Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 2.6%, now owning approximately 8.08% of the company's shares, valued at $254,979,000.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing a 4.2% dividend yield, scheduled to be paid on September 5th.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net profit margin of 1.54% for the last quarter, with earnings per share reported at $2.59, exceeding expectations by $0.40.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 118,729 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.08% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $254,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,674,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 130,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,660,000 after purchasing an additional 87,340 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 12,530 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.4% in 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 last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $2.5650 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.1450. 524,236 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,058,815. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.14 and a beta of 1.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.77.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 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 posted $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is 347.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.