Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 96,503 Shares of Griffon Corporation $GFF

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,887,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 96,503 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.64% of Griffon worth $448,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GFF. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Griffon in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 539 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 1,049.1% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 609 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Griffon during the first quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,333,792.80. This trade represents a 18.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at $11,428,653.68. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Griffon Stock Down 2.3%

Griffon stock opened at $85.49 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.79. Griffon Corporation has a twelve month low of $63.92 and a twelve month high of $97.58.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $649.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.35 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.Griffon’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 95.65%.

Griffon Profile

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.