Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 18,756 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 45.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,756 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.11% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 151.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 194,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,576,000 after acquiring an additional 117,314 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $823,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 126.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 63,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 35,456 shares in the last quarter. FCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,011,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 78,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,056,000 after purchasing an additional 12,969 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $68.51 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.73 and a beta of 1.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $43.67 and a 52-week high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.62) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $410.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.83 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 11.52% and a negative return on equity of 44.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.02) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -37.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were 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 $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were 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 $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492 over the last quarter. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

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.