State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 880 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SMG. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Five investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $72.86 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $51.60 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.59 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.57.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -382.61%.

Insider Activity

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.