Two Sigma Investments LP Trims Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,718 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 165,270 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.60% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $22,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,839 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 70,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,652,000 after buying an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.90. The company had a trading volume of 90,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,311. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of -127.01 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. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $55.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.99.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is 528.00%.

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.