Allianz Asset Management GmbH Trims Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH has reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 20.2%, now holding 23,962 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million.
• Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Scotts Miracle-Gro, with 74.07% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.8%.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 20.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,962 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,051 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter worth $41,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter worth $66,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, 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 directly owned 13,217,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,975,735.82. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.1%

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $55.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.85 and a 200-day moving average of $60.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.95 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently 347.37%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.

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