The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 51.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 41,818 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.07% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 32.1% during the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 835.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total transaction of $3,569,011.66. Following the sale, the director owned 13,217,641 shares in the company, valued at $832,975,735.82. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.7%

SMG opened at $56.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.54. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $79.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36 and a beta of 1.97.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.96) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.88) by ($0.08). Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 4.26% and a negative return on equity of 67.74%. The firm had revenue of $387.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.31) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.150-4.350 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMG has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

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.