Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Position Cut by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 47.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,617 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,100 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Griffon were worth $400,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Griffon by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,335,000 after purchasing an additional 19,291 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its position in Griffon by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 61,210 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new stake in Griffon in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,089,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Griffon by 21.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $24,423,000 after acquiring an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Griffon stock traded up $1.05 on Friday, hitting $70.47. 541,331 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 347,633. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.40. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $74.61 and its 200 day moving average is $71.97. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $55.01 and a 52-week high of $86.73.

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Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.69%.

Griffon announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $98.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Griffon 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.