Arizona State Retirement System Has $751,000 Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 146.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2,025.0% in the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $67.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $77.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.53.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.62) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $410.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.83 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 44.37% and a negative net margin of 11.52%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.02) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -37.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,154,354.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SMG. Truist Financial cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

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.