Clare Market Investments LLC Invests $670,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Clare Market Investments LLC has acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, purchasing 10,165 shares worth approximately $670,000 in the second quarter.
• Insider trading activity includes EVP Mark J. Scheiwer buying 1,790 shares, while Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares, indicating changes in management's confidence.
• Analysts have varied ratings on the stock, with Zacks upgrading it to a "strong-buy," while Scotts Miracle-Gro reported earnings surpassing expectations, with a quarterly EPS of $2.59.

Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,165 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $670,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 86,929 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,767,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $375,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,613 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,128,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $0.46 on Monday, reaching $58.51. 695,084 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,016,223. 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 $62.99 and a 200 day moving average of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 76.99 and a beta of 1.98.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 347.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

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.