The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.6%, resulting in ownership of approximately $10.7 million worth of shares after selling 15,980 shares during the first quarter.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro reported earnings of $2.59 per share for the last quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations, despite a 1.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, which represents a 4.3% dividend yield, with a high dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 15,980 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.34% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $10,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $61.66 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.13 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 (DPR) is presently 347.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total value of $3,569,011.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,217,641 shares in the company, valued at $832,975,735.82. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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