Petrus Trust Company LTA Takes Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA has invested $660,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, acquiring 12,028 shares in the first quarter.
• The company's stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $71.17.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.2%.

Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.8% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.5% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. This trade represents a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG traded up $1.04 on Thursday, hitting $61.66. 514,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,036,131. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 81.13 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.34. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The company'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. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 347.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SMG shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

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.