Cibc World Markets Corp Purchases Shares of 3,518 Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,518 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,487 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position 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 valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 1.1% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,780 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE:GFF traded down $1.43 on Friday, reaching $70.53. 280,621 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 425,880. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.76. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.40.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GFF shares. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $98.75.

About Griffon

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.