180,778 Shares in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Acquired by abrdn plc

abrdn plc acquired a new position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 180,778 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $12,842,000. abrdn plc owned about 0.38% of Griffon at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Griffon by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $108,914,000 after buying an additional 61,210 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 877,840 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $61,463,000 after purchasing an additional 30,264 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 7.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 519,926 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $36,395,000 after purchasing an additional 34,525 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 74.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $33,144,000 after purchasing an additional 202,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 21.4% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $24,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total value of $380,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,631,091.52. This represents a 18.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total value of $18,216,389.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,860,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $140,207,211.10. This trade represents a 11.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 292,309 shares of company stock worth $22,104,633. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE GFF traded up $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 218,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,469. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Equities research analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides consumer and professional, and home and building products in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Home and Building Products, and Consumer and Professional Products. The Home and Building Products segment manufactures and markets residential and commercial sectional garage doors, rolling steel service doors, fire doors, shutters, steel security grilles, and room dividers for the use in commercial construction and repair, and home remodeling applications.