Griffon Corporation $GFF Stock Holdings Raised by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 16.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 330,697 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,108 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Griffon were worth $25,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 2,273.9% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,457 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 13,848 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its holdings in Griffon by 43.2% in the second quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 42,701 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 12,890 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Griffon by 11.3% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 86,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,587,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 49.4% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,774 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 6,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Griffon by 172.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 78,286 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,962,000 after purchasing an additional 49,585 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $295,180.50. Following the sale, the director owned 13,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,333,792.80. The trade was a 18.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total value of $1,431,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 119,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of GFF opened at $85.17 on Friday. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $63.92 and a one year high of $97.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.38 and its 200-day moving average is $77.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens boosted their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Griffon Company 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.