Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 92,687 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 14.7% in the first quarter, selling 92,687 shares to own approximately 0.93% of the company valued at $29.4 million.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.59, beating estimates, although revenue declined year-over-year by 1.2% to $1.19 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.2%, with an exceptionally high payout ratio of 347.37%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 535,727 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 92,687 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.93% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $29,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 553.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 189,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,549,000 after purchasing an additional 160,225 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 86,929 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,767,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,553,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,242.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 133,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,861,000 after acquiring an additional 130,494 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $61.33. 132,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,033,855. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.72 and a beta of 1.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $64.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.34. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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. Equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

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

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.