Woodline Partners LP Purchases Shares of 62,220 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 62,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $4,128,000. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.11% of Scotts Miracle-Gro as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,684,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth $1,261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $0.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.78. 670,274 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 962,631. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -124.54 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $55.14 and a 200-day moving average of $63.96.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 4.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently 528.00%.

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.