The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Position Boosted by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 219,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $14,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,500,000 after acquiring an additional 5,433 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 34,084.2% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.2% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 47,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,080,000 after purchasing an additional 10,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SMG shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.67.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,390,090.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $856,127.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,891,428.47. This trade represents a 18.03 % 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $67.30 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $53.43 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.89. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.54 and a beta of 1.73.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -382.61%.

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.