MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Cuts Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. has reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 19.8% to approximately 55,611 shares, worth about $3,052,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro, with Amundi growing its position by 519.9% and Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC by 770.3% in the first quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, resulting in a 4.3% yield, despite a high payout ratio of 347.37%.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,611 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 13,722 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 0.10% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased 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 increased 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. Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $659,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased 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. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SMG 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 12-month low of $45.61 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 79.56 and a beta of 1.98. The business's 50-day moving average is $63.76 and its 200 day moving average is $60.38.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given 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 was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently 347.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

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.