The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 65.1%, selling 274,587 shares, and now owns 147,250 shares valued at approximately $7.94 million.
• Despite the decrease in AQR's holdings, other institutional investors have increased their investments, with Spire Wealth Management and UMB Bank n.a. respectively raising their stakes by 477.9% and 479.4% in the first quarter.
• A recent quarterly dividend of $0.66 was paid on September 5th, representing an annual yield of 4.3%, with a notably high dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 65.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 147,250 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 274,587 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $7,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.87. The company had a trading volume of 603,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,103. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $63.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.37. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.77 and a beta of 1.98.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $4,359,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

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.