Traub Capital Management LLC Invests $67,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 835.1% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $53.15 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.94 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $45.61 and a one year high of $83.55.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.96) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.88) by ($0.08). Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The company had revenue of $387.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.31) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.150-4.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total transaction of $3,569,011.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,217,641 shares in the company, valued at $832,975,735.82. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $621,171.60. This trade represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.