Blair William & Co. IL Raises Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 27.5% during Q2, now holding $16 million worth of shares.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, which translates to an annual payout of $2.64 and a yield of 4.8%.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro's stock is currently down 3.8% with a P/E ratio of 73.09 and consensus target price among analysts set at $69.17.

Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 27.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,054 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 52,447 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.42% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $16,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 288.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,421,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,672 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 770.3% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 334,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,385,000 after acquiring an additional 296,448 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 219,313.5% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 162,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,710,000 after acquiring an additional 162,292 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $254,979,000 after purchasing an additional 118,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 149.5% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 192,437 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,563,000 after purchasing an additional 115,308 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 3.8%

SMG stock opened at $55.55 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $60.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.09 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is 347.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Zacks Research cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.17.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SMG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.