LPL Financial LLC Has $4.40 Million Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26%, now owning approximately $4.4 million worth of shares.
• The company's quarterly earnings beat analyst expectations, reporting $2.59 EPS versus a consensus of $2.19, despite a 1.2% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro announced a $0.66 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 4.2% yield, but it has a high payout ratio of 347.37%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 26.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,096 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,504 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.14% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $4,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,900 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SMG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE SMG opened at $62.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.34 and a beta of 1.97. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $45.61 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.11.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.2%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is presently 347.37%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.

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