CM Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

CM Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 100.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. CM Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.6% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 2,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.44 per share, with a total value of $49,507.92. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,032.80. The trade was a 4.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $3,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,167,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $874,331,362.40. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $64.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.12 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $45.61 and a one year high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.27. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The company had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.89) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is 179.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $67.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.