WoodTrust Financial Corp Invests $396,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• WoodTrust Financial Corp invested approximately $396,000 in 6,000 shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in the second quarter of 2023.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.6%, although the dividend payout ratio is high at 347.37%.
• Insider activity included EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchasing 1,790 shares and a director selling 70,000 shares of the company, indicating notable trading among executives.

WoodTrust Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $4,359,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, 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.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $57.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.02 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during 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%.Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 347.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.17.

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.

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