Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $1.65 Million Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 13.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,649 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.05% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.0% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.8% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 12,530 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.87. 1,205,358 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 828,453. The company's 50 day moving average is $64.81 and its 200 day moving average is $61.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.41 and a beta of 1.97. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $45.61 and a one year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently 347.37%.

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.