The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Holdings Lifted by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 79.9%, acquiring an additional 6,445 shares, bringing their total holdings to 14,510 shares valued at approximately $795,000.
• During the first quarter, several other hedge funds significantly increased their stakes in Scotts Miracle-Gro, with Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosting their ownership by 413.5% and Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd. by 1,320.7%.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share on September 5th, with a payout ratio currently at 347.37%, reflecting investor interest in dividends despite challenges in earnings growth.

Ethic Inc. raised its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 79.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,510 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,445 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 12,530 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 785,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 941,819. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $64.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.59. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.96 and a beta of 1.97.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is 347.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.17.

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.