The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock Position Decreased by De Lisle Partners LLP

Key Points

• De Lisle Partners LLP has reduced its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 23.2%, selling 27,215 shares to end with 89,975 shares valued at approximately $4.94 million.
• Several institutional investors have updated their positions, with Point72 Asset Management acquiring a new stake valued at $53.45 million during the fourth quarter.
• Analyst ratings show a mixed sentiment with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $71.83, despite recent target price cuts from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

De Lisle Partners LLP lowered its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 27,215 shares during the quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP owned about 0.16% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $4,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 733.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 883 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,205,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,094,670. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.41 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.84.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 347.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.33.

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.