The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Acquired by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 154.4% in Q1, acquiring an additional 41,912 shares, making its total holdings approximately 0.12% worth $3.79 million.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings, achieving $2.59 EPS, surpassing estimates, despite a 1.2% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro has announced a $0.66 quarterly dividend with an annualized yield of 4.3%, although its dividend payout ratio is notably high at 347.37%.

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 154.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,065 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,912 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.12% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SMG. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 86,929 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,767,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,242.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 133,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,861,000 after buying an additional 130,494 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,250,000 after buying an additional 171,034 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth approximately $375,000. Finally, Man Group plc raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 264,668 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,558,000 after purchasing an additional 51,624 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SMG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 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 objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total value of $3,569,011.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,217,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $832,975,735.82. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $621,171.60. This trade represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Monday, reaching $60.47. The company had a trading volume of 389,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 687,066. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The firm's fifty day moving average is $63.76 and its 200-day moving average is $60.38. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.56 and a beta of 1.98.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently 347.37%.

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.