Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $1.32 Million in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 19,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SMG. State Street Corp raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $100,397,000 after purchasing an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $78,443,000 after purchasing an additional 795,970 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,368,000 after purchasing an additional 265,677 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $67,553,000 after buying an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% during the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,121,000 after buying an additional 51,148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $59.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.70 and a beta of 1.83. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $75.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.72 and a 200-day moving average of $63.70.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 229.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,137,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,827 shares in the company, valued at $667,484.55. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734 in the last quarter. 24.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.

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