The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,962 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,237 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.05% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 127.9% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 17,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 32,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $254,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of SMG opened at $53.95 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.35. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.99 and a beta of 1.96.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,274,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.17.

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.