Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 215.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 21,747 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 288.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,421,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,011,000 after buying an additional 1,055,672 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 557,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,268,000 after acquiring an additional 675,493 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 1.5%

SMG stock opened at $58.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12 and a beta of 1.97. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $79.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.11.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.96) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $387.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.31) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.150-4.350 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

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.