Petrus Trust Company LTA Invests $660,000 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 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SMG. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.1% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in 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 worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG opened at $63.08 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $64.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.36. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.99 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

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