Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 20,843 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 32.1% during the 2nd 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. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.6% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% in the third quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.8% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.5% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group set a $67.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 693 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.44 per share, with a total value of $49,507.92. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,032.80. This trade represents a 4.72% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total value of $3,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 24.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $68.98 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.93 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $72.35.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.8%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 179.59%.

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.