Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 318.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 33.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,881,368 shares in the company, valued at $810,671,891.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SMG opened at $68.19 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $77.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.69 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.85.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.62) by $0.17. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 44.37% and a negative net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $410.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.02) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -37.50%.

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.