Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 302 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 41.3% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,173. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,078 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,042 over the last quarter. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG opened at $86.62 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $43.98 and a one year high of $91.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.88 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.09.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.31%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.