Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC has decreased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 34.0%, now holding 37,986 shares valued at approximately $2.51 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Millennium Management LLC, increased their holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro, indicating a trend towards greater institutional investment.
• The company reported earnings of $2.59 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and provided FY 2025 guidance of 3.500 EPS.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 34.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,986 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 19,604 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.07% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,613 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $4,128,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 126,436 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,388,000 after purchasing an additional 24,105 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $659,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $58.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 697,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 632,126. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The business's 50-day moving average is $62.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 76.99 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.