Corient Private Wealth LP Increases Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth increased its Scotts Miracle-Gro stake by 500.3% in the second quarter, holding 114,728 shares worth approximately $7.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.07% of SMG.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy and four Hold ratings. The consensus price target is $75.40, while recent targets range from $76 to $78.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.82 in EPS versus a $2.48 estimate and $1.17 billion in revenue. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.66, equating to a 4.9% annualized yield.

Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 500.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 95,616 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP owned about 0.20% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $7,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter worth approximately $50,058,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,443,000 after buying an additional 795,970 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 362.8% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 737,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $43,036,000 after buying an additional 578,174 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,595,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 807,061 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,092,000 after buying an additional 364,285 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.40.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $80,002.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,061,829.28. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $51,231.15. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $667,484.55. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,154,734. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $54.01 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $62.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 46.96 and a beta of 1.83. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is 229.57%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. Founded in 1868 and headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company serves homeowners and gardening enthusiasts through products designed for growing, feeding, protecting and maintaining plants and lawns.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, gardening soils, plant foods, weed and pest controls, and related gardening products. Well-known brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Turf Builder, Ortho, Tomcat and Earthgro.

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