12,942 Shares in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Purchased by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired 12,942 shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company for approximately $854,000 in the second quarter, indicating increasing interest from institutional investors.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 4.7%, despite a high payout ratio of 347.37%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" on Scotts Miracle-Gro, with a price target averaging around $70.17, reflecting a cautiously optimistic growth outlook.

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $854,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $254,979,000 after buying an additional 118,729 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 288.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,421,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,011,000 after buying an additional 1,055,672 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 770.3% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 334,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,385,000 after buying an additional 296,448 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.8% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 294,555 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,168,000 after buying an additional 35,730 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 216,304 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,873,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Friday. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $56.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.21. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 73.74 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is 347.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 can be found here. Insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

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.

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