Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 521 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,082,000 after acquiring an additional 151,354 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,203,000 after acquiring an additional 15,869 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,448,000 after acquiring an additional 14,730 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,563,000 after buying an additional 331,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,918,000 after buying an additional 175,719 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $62.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.63 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $55.68 and a 12-month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.45) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -550.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 171,296 shares of company stock valued at $12,235,403 in the last ninety days. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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.