Trexquant Investment LP Purchases Shares of 32,127 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, purchasing 32,127 shares valued at approximately $1.76 million, representing 0.06% ownership in the company.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.2%, scheduled to be paid on September 5th.
• In the latest earnings report, Scotts Miracle-Gro exceeded EPS expectations with $2.59 earnings per share, although the quarterly revenue slightly declined by 1.2% compared to the previous year.

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 32,127 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,763,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the first 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 period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, reaching $60.59. 538,959 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 709,499. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.21 and a 200-day moving average of $60.34. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.73 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 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 business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.