Bank of Montreal Can Has $3.06 Million Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,992 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $3,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 30.7% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.0% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 15.4% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 18,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,531 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 13,217,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $832,975,735.82. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $58.48 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $83.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.95 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.88) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $387.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.75 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.31) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.150-4.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.