Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 91,102 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 65.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 91,102 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SMG. State Street Corp grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,397,000 after acquiring an additional 16,298 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,311 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 163.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 899,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,344,000 after purchasing an additional 557,647 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,268,000 after purchasing an additional 675,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 750,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.44 per share, for a total transaction of $49,507.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,032.80. This represents a 4.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $3,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,167,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $874,331,362.40. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 24.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $70.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.90 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.80. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.27. The company had revenue of $354.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.25 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.89) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 179.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $67.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.