The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 32.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,277 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 149,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,227,000 after buying an additional 23,446 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 10.1% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 9,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 61.4% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of SMG opened at $68.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 46.50 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.22. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $70.67.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is 179.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SMG shares. Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. UBS Group set a $67.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $3,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,167,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $874,331,362.40. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.