The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Stock Holdings Increased by Amundi

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% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,643 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.10% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $254,979,000 after purchasing an additional 118,729 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,453,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,250,000 after buying an additional 171,034 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 770.3% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 334,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,385,000 after buying an additional 296,448 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.8% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 294,555 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,168,000 after buying an additional 35,730 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total transaction of $3,569,011.66. Following the sale, the director owned 13,217,641 shares in the company, valued at $832,975,735.82. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $621,171.60. This trade represents a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 603,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,103. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $63.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.77 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.