American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 45.4% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 61,671 shares worth $3.38 million.
• The company recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.66, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%, despite having a high dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro reported earnings of $2.59 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while analysts predict a current fiscal year EPS of 3.42.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 45.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,671 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,247 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.11% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.39. 866,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,047,163. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.46 and a beta of 1.98. The business's 50 day moving average is $64.76 and its 200-day moving average is $60.40. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.Scotts Miracle-Gro'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 business earned $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders 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 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is 347.37%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 transaction, the director owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

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.