The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Holdings Lowered by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 28.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 204,453 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 81,591 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.36% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $17,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.7% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,049 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $19.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $74.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,646,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,045. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $48.29 and a one year high of $93.90. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $80.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.16 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -55.81%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at $965,232,321.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.25.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.