Man Group plc Increases Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Man Group plc raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 264,668 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,624 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.46% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $17,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $375,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,250,000 after acquiring an additional 171,034 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $659,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:SMG traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $60.43. 196,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,843. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of -126.04 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $55.14 and its 200-day moving average is $64.66.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 528.00%.

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.