Comerica Bank Sells 5,513 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 12.6%, selling 5,513 shares and now owning approximately 0.07% of the company, valued at about $2.09 million.
• In contrast, other large investors like Spire Wealth Management and UMB Bank n.a. have significantly increased their stakes in Scotts Miracle-Gro by nearly 478% in the 1st quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66, with a dividend yield of 4.3%, and a reported EPS of $2.59, exceeding analyst expectations for the last quarter.

Comerica Bank lessened its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,513 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned about 0.07% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $61.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.56 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $64.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently 347.37%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.

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