Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 17,001 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 148,283 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 17,001 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Griffon worth $10,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 86.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,729 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

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Griffon Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE GFF traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 541,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 347,633. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $74.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.40.

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, 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

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 is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised 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 reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $98.75.

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.