Northern Trust Corp Purchases 55,977 Shares of SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,678,310 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,977 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.87% of SmartRent worth $2,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of SmartRent by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 391,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 103,325 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of SmartRent during the 4th quarter valued at about $438,000. Crossingbridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SmartRent during the 4th quarter valued at about $569,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of SmartRent during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of SmartRent by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,283,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 501,890 shares during the last quarter. 59.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Shane Paladin acquired 43,859 shares of SmartRent stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.14 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,999.26. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Dorman acquired 125,000 shares of SmartRent stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.20 per share, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 229,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $275,958. The trade was a 119.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SMRT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of SmartRent from $1.60 to $1.30 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of SmartRent to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.33.

SmartRent Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE SMRT opened at $0.79 on Friday. SmartRent, Inc. has a 12 month low of $0.67 and a 12 month high of $2.61. The stock has a market cap of $148.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.08 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $0.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.34.

SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.03). SmartRent had a negative return on equity of 6.08% and a negative net margin of 12.77%. The firm had revenue of $41.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.10 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that SmartRent, Inc. will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

SmartRent announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 27.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

SmartRent Profile

SmartRent, Inc, an enterprise software company, provides an integrated smart home operating system to residential property owners and operators, homebuilders, institutional home buyers, developers, and residents in the United States. The company’s products and solutions include smart apartments and homes, access control for buildings, common areas, and rental units, asset protection and monitoring, parking management, self-guided tours, and community and resident Wi-Fi.