The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Acquired by Connecticut Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Connecticut Wealth Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 137.8%, now owning 14,571 shares valued at $800,000.
• Several institutional investors have also ramped up their positions in Scotts Miracle-Gro, contributing to a total of 74.07% of the company's stock being held by institutional investors.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.3%, with a payout ratio of 347.37%.

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 137.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SMG. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the firm'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 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 approximately $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:SMG traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.28. 684,582 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 665,256. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.32 and a beta of 1.98.

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 business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The company's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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

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.