Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 3,118 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 217,671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,876,000 after purchasing an additional 12,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $71.00 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $82.11. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.38 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.57.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -42.31%.

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.