The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Stake Boosted by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,805 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at $66,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Zacks Research cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,274,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of SMG opened at $53.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.84 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.