LGT Group Foundation Takes Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, purchasing 12,169 shares valued at approximately $668,000 during the first quarter.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.64 and a yield of 4.3%, with a payout ratio of 347.37%.
• The company's stock has experienced a 52-week range between $45.61 and $93.90 and reported earnings per share of $2.59 for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

LGT Group Foundation acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,169 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $668,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $60.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.11 and a beta of 1.97. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.20.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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

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