Insider Buying: Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) EVP Purchases 693 Shares of Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) EVP Mark Scheiwer acquired 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.44 per share, with a total value of $49,507.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,032.80. The trade was a 4.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG stock traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.02. The stock had a trading volume of 382,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,280. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 46.94 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $45.61 and a 12-month 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. The company had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.25 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.89) EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 179.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,397,000 after acquiring an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,368,000 after purchasing an additional 265,677 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,036,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,462,000 after purchasing an additional 314,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 898,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,171,000 after buying an additional 187,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $67.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.