Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC has acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, purchasing 13,139 shares valued at approximately $901,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company reported earnings of $2.59 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but its revenue decreased by 1.2% year-over-year.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro's recent quarterly dividend was $0.66 per share, reflecting a high dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,139 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $901,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.1% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.8% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.5% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $58.48 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.95 and a beta of 1.96. The business's 50 day moving average price is $61.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.12.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 347.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $621,171.60. This trade represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the firm's 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 owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.