Oak Thistle LLC Makes New $1.42 Million Investment in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 201.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 156.7% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at $55,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group set a $67.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG stock opened at $63.93 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.49 and a beta of 1.94. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $354.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.25 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.89) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.44 per share, for a total transaction of $49,507.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,032.80. The trade was a 4.72% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total value of $3,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,167,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $874,331,362.40. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

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.