Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Buys Shares of 40,920 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC has acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, purchasing 40,920 shares valued at approximately $2.25 million.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing a 4.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 347.37%.
• Despite a decline in revenue year-over-year, the company reported earnings per share of $2.59 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.19.

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 40,920 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,246,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC owned 0.07% of Scotts Miracle-Gro at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 88.1% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.4% in the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,007.1% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 49,444 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,702,000 after purchasing an additional 44,978 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 48.9% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 94,403 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 31,002 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 137.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 143,536 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,879,000 after purchasing an additional 83,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.23. 360,396 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,048,348. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.56 and a beta of 1.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.56. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.