JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 27,422 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 21.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,422 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.27% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $8,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 104.2% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 275.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 20,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,148,000 after buying an additional 14,779 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,154,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,767,000 after buying an additional 146,192 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth approximately $121,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $67.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $60.52 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.13. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $72.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.17 and a beta of 1.96.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.27. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.89) EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. Analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 179.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 693 shares of the firm’s 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 purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,098,032.80. This trade represents a 4.72% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,167,641 shares in the company, valued at $874,331,362.40. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

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.