Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 72.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 628,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 264,369 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 1.09% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $41,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $54.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.50 and a beta of 1.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.86. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.69 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 528.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.50.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.