Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 553.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 160,225 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.33% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $12,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 5.6%

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $3.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $57.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,530,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 951,895. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $55.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.66. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of -118.76 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.69 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 528.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

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.