Compass Wealth Management LLC Acquires 22,513 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Compass Wealth Management increased its Scotts Miracle-Gro stake by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 22,513 shares to bring its total to 118,234 shares worth about $6.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with about 74.1% of SMG shares held by hedge funds and other institutions; several other large investors also boosted their positions recently.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting $4.53 in EPS versus $3.97 expected and revenue of $1.46 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share for a 4.4% yield.

Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,234 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,513 shares during the quarter. Scotts Miracle-Gro makes up about 1.7% of Compass Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Compass Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $6,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $100,397,000 after buying an additional 16,298 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% in 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 buying an additional 265,677 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,154,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $65,767,000 after buying an additional 146,192 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 314,172 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% in 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 period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.1%

SMG stock opened at $59.55 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27 and a beta of 1.84. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 79.61% and a net margin of 3.27%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 147.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SMG. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SMG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.