Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $2.44 Million Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 61.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,101 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,645 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE SMG opened at $72.46 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $53.43 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.01 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.86.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -382.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,499,556.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,390,090.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268 over the last three months. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SMG. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.50.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.