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 institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth $53,453,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 770.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,250,000 after buying an additional 171,034 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,242.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 133,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,861,000 after acquiring an additional 130,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $254,979,000 after acquiring an additional 118,729 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $60.47. 389,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,028,546. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.92 and a 200-day moving average of $60.36. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.56 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 347.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at $621,171.60. The trade was 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 firm's 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.17.

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.