The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Sold by Centerstone Investors LLC

Key Points

• Centerstone Investors LLC reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 60.5%, holding shares worth $404,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds, including Spire Wealth Management and UMB Bank, significantly increased their stakes in Scotts Miracle-Gro by over 477%, indicating growing interest from institutional investors.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66, yielding 4.4%, despite having a high dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.

Centerstone Investors LLC trimmed its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 60.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,357 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 11,283 shares during the quarter. Scotts Miracle-Gro accounts for approximately 1.0% of Centerstone Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Centerstone Investors LLC's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,819 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter valued at $226,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter valued at $1,011,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter worth about $5,475,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of SMG stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.78. The company had a trading volume of 325,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,039,747. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.87 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.33.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm'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. On average, research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 347.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought 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. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.