Caxton Associates LLP Acquires Shares of 8,538 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, purchasing 8,538 shares valued at approximately $469,000 in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Ameriprise Financial and Deutsche Bank, have recently increased their stakes, with hedge funds now owning 74.07% of the company's stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.3%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,055,672 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,453,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position 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. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,242.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 133,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,861,000 after purchasing an additional 130,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $254,979,000 after purchasing an additional 118,729 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $61.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 75,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,020,354. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $63.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.38. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.54 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The business's quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 347.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SMG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. This trade represents 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 Company 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.