Millennium Management LLC Grows Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 288.8%, owning 1,421,220 shares valued at approximately $78 million as of the latest filing.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66, with a dividend yield of 4.2% and a payout ratio of 347.37%.
• Analysts have upgraded their ratings and set new price targets for Scotts Miracle-Gro, with an average target price of $71.17 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 288.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,421,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,055,672 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 2.46% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $78,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SMG. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $832,975,735.82. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.61. 83,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,030,596. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 79.72 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $45.61 and a one year high of $93.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.