Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Buys New Shares in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. has acquired a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, purchasing 23,804 shares valued at approximately $1.31 million in the first quarter.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro reported earnings of $2.59 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.19, despite a slight decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing a dividend yield of 4.3%, with the payout ratio currently at 347.37%.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 23,804 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,305,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $254,979,000 after acquiring an additional 118,729 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,453,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 628,414 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,689,000 after acquiring an additional 264,369 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,434,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,250,000 after acquiring an additional 171,034 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

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 transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.23. 596,751 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 746,397. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.56 and a beta of 1.97. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $64.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.48.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, equities 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 firm 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 347.37%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.