Versor Investments LP Increases Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 358.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,182 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,220 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 151.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 194,791 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,576,000 after purchasing an additional 117,314 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at $823,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 126.7% during the third quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 63,435 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,278,000 after acquiring an additional 35,456 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $746,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 59,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,810,000 after acquiring an additional 18,756 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.7 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.68. 619,386 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 759,623. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.01 and a beta of 1.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is -42.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total transaction of $2,159,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,746,012 shares in the company, valued at $957,684,656.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,750 shares of company stock worth $8,764,262 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SMG shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.00.

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.