New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 4.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 244,178 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,679 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $13,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 149,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,227,000 after purchasing an additional 23,446 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter worth $207,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at $256,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $62.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 42.44 and a beta of 1.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.24. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $70.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by $0.27. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The firm had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.89) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 179.59%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.