Ethic Inc. Acquires 2,777 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,777 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position 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. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $55.45 on Monday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.85 and its 200 day moving average is $60.27. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.95 and a beta of 1.96.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 347.37%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total value of $3,569,011.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,217,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,975,735.82. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SMG. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.