The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Holdings Lifted by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 87.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 171,034 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.64% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $24,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,839 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,954 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 70,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,652,000 after buying an additional 2,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.40. 657,913 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 964,757. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.08. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -123.75 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.69 EPS. On average, research 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently 528.00%.

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.