The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Graham Capital Management L.P. lessened its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,131 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SMG. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,986,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth $39,434,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 469,336 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,136,000 after buying an additional 286,962 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 258,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,170,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 218,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,498,000 after buying an additional 14,088 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $58.75 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $45.61 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of -122.39 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend 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.