Amundi Buys 48,643 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Amundi has significantly increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 519.9%, acquiring a total of 58,000 shares worth approximately $3.08 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro for about $4.36 million, while EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares for around $109,763.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, yielding 4.3%, although the company's dividend payout ratio stands at a notably high 347.37%.

Amundi grew its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 519.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,643 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.10% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 770.3% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 334,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,385,000 after purchasing an additional 296,448 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at about $101,000. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 137.8% in the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,763,000. Finally, Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,305,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $60.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 389,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,546. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The business's 50 day moving average price is $63.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.36. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.56 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 347.37%.

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.