Northern Trust Corp Sells 10,728 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 0.8%, now owning approximately 1,336,537 shares worth $73.36 million, after selling 10,728 shares in the first quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, set to be paid on September 5th, representing an annual yield of 4.3% and a payout ratio of 347.37%.
• Analysts have varying target prices for the stock, with a consensus price target of $71.17, indicating a generally positive outlook despite some downgrades.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,336,537 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,728 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 2.32% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $73,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $254,979,000 after buying an additional 118,729 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,453,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 628,414 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,689,000 after purchasing an additional 264,369 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,434,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 469,336 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,136,000 after purchasing an additional 286,962 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SMG shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.23. 596,751 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,050,146. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.56. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $45.61 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.56 and a beta of 1.97.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is 347.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.