Ethic Inc. Buys 6,445 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 413.5% during the 1st quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 37,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 30,537 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 82,970 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,554,000 after acquiring an additional 50,394 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,320.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,543 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 2,364 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth $668,000. Finally, Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth $274,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $4,359,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of SMG stock opened at $61.0640 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.35 and a beta of 1.97. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $64.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.82.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.Scotts Miracle-Gro's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's 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.

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