The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 25.2%, selling 5,079 shares and now holding 15,081 shares valued at approximately $828,000.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Millennium Management LLC, have increased their stakes in Scotts Miracle-Gro, indicating growing institutional interest.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.3%, but has a high payout ratio of 347.37%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 25.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,081 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,079 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $254,979,000 after acquiring an additional 118,729 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $53,453,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,250,000 after buying an additional 171,034 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in 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. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total transaction of $3,569,011.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,217,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $832,975,735.82. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. 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 report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.5%

SMG traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $60.47. 389,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 687,066. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.56 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.38.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is 347.37%.

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.