Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Reduces Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 10.1%, owning approximately 0.27% of the company worth $8.43 million after selling 17,300 shares.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, which results in an annualized yield of 4.4%, despite a high payout ratio of 347.37%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with target prices ranging from $68 to $80, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" along with an average target price of $71.17.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,600 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 17,300 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.27% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $8,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.5% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the firm'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 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. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.6%

SMG traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.08. The stock had a trading volume of 899,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 701,493. The stock's 50 day moving average is $64.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.99 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $45.61 and a one year high of $93.90.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 347.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.17.

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.