Sei Investments Co. Buys 51,213 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 24.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 261,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 51,213 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $15,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,311 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,268,000 after purchasing an additional 675,493 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 362.8% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 737,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,036,000 after purchasing an additional 578,174 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,595,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 163.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 899,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,344,000 after purchasing an additional 557,647 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG opened at $68.42 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $52.00 and a fifty-two week high of $75.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 59.49 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.71 and its 200 day moving average is $64.26.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is 147.49%.

Trending Headlines about Scotts Miracle-Gro

Here are the key news stories impacting Scotts Miracle-Gro this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ScottsMiracle-Gro reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.82, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.48 and rising from $2.59 a year earlier. Revenue reached $1.17 billion, broadly matching estimates and increasing approximately 1% year over year. Third-quarter results and updated outlook
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $4.30-$4.45 from $4.15-$4.35, citing accelerated EPS growth. It reaffirmed low-single-digit U.S. Consumer sales growth and $275 million in free cash flow. Fiscal 2026 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Net leverage improved to 3.78 times from the prior-year period, supporting the company’s efforts to strengthen its balance sheet. ScottsMiracle-Gro also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 3.7%.
• Positive Sentiment: Management scheduled an August 4 Investor Day to detail its “SMG 2.0” growth strategy, portfolio optimization, operational efficiencies, capital allocation and longer-term financial targets. Clearer targets could provide a catalyst if management presents credible plans for sustained sales and profitability growth. Investor Day details
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is likely to remain focused on the upcoming Investor Day, where senior executives will address leverage reduction, investment, acquisitions and shareholder returns. The event may increase near-term volatility depending on the financial targets announced.
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP net income fell to $112.2 million from $149.1 million, while GAAP EPS declined 34% to $1.75. Gross margin also contracted 90 basis points to 31.2%, highlighting profitability and cost pressures beneath the adjusted EPS improvement. Q3 sales and earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue growth was modest, and the company’s outlook still calls for only low-single-digit U.S. Consumer sales growth. Investors may therefore view the earnings beat as largely driven by cost or mix improvements rather than strong underlying demand.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.20.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.