The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Holdings Decreased by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 7.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 194,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,980 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $10,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 86,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,767,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,242.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 133,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,861,000 after acquiring an additional 130,494 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $535,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $659,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,250,000 after acquiring an additional 171,034 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of SMG stock opened at $61.66 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 81.13 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.07 and a 200-day moving average of $60.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 347.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $621,171.60. This trade represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,274,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.