Woodline Partners LP Grows Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP significantly increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 174.2%, owning approximately 0.30% of the company valued at $9.366 million after purchasing an additional 108,408 shares in the first quarter.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro reported earnings of $2.59 per share, exceeding estimates, and had a revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, which was slightly below expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, yielding 4.3%, although its dividend payout ratio is notably high at 347.37%.

Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 174.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 170,628 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 108,408 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.30% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $9,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter worth $302,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth about $469,000. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth about $775,000. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth about $660,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $61.22. 105,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,020,516. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 80.55 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.38. 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 data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is 347.37%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.