Twin Tree Management LP Reduces Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Twin Tree Management LP dramatically reduced its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 93%, holding only 4,235 shares after selling 56,665 shares in the first quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 to be paid on September 5th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Scotts Miracle-Gro, with one upgrade to a "strong-buy" and a moderate average target price of $71.17.

Twin Tree Management LP lowered its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 93.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,235 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 56,665 shares during the quarter. Twin Tree Management LP's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,453,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 628,414 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,689,000 after buying an additional 264,369 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,250,000 after buying an additional 171,034 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 553.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 189,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,549,000 after buying an additional 160,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,242.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 133,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,861,000 after buying an additional 130,494 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG opened at $61.23 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.56 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 347.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. 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. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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