Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMGFree Report) by 93.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 75,192 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,397,000 after purchasing an additional 16,298 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% in 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 buying an additional 795,970 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,368,000 after buying an additional 265,677 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th 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. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% in the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,484.55. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,137,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,133,885.45. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,154,734. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.40.

Read Our Latest Report on Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $62.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.98 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.33. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $52.00 and a 52-week high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMGGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG)

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