Centiva Capital LP Grows Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Centiva Capital LP grew its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 201.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,879 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SMG. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at about $866,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,035,000 after purchasing an additional 163,037 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 672,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,756,000 after purchasing an additional 14,533 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,515,000 after purchasing an additional 502,353 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $2,125,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,028,866,984.34. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of SMG stock opened at $75.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -110.07 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.32. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $53.43 and a 12-month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -382.61%.

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.