Advisory Services Network LLC Grows Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 64.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,894 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 4,256 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Griffon were worth $776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,977 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,701 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Griffon by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,720 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial River Investments LLC lifted its stake in Griffon by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.20.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE GFF traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.16. The stock had a trading volume of 565,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,374. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.26. 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 results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Equities analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

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.