Summit Securities Group LLC Takes Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Summit Securities Group LLC has made a new investment of $436,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, purchasing 7,950 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors hold 74.07% of the company’s stock, with notable increases in stake holdings observed among several hedge funds.
• The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.2% and a high dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.

Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,950 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 130,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,660,000 after purchasing an additional 87,340 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 12,530 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 190,961 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,668,000 after purchasing an additional 73,339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock traded down $1.0560 on Wednesday, hitting $61.0640. 703,106 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,064,112. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.35 and a beta of 1.97. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.82.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro'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. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 value of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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 company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.