The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Purchased by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 137.6% in Q1, now holding 143,536 shares worth approximately $7.88 million.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.59 for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.19, despite a 1.2% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro has declared a $0.66 quarterly dividend, with a dividend yield of 4.3%, reflecting a significant payout ratio of 347.37%.

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 137.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,536 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 83,119 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.25% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $7,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,453,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,434,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 264,369 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,250,000 after purchasing an additional 171,034 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 553.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 189,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,549,000 after purchasing an additional 160,225 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 596,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,965. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.48. 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 $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.56 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 347.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SMG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the sale, the director 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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.