Edgestream Partners L.P. Boosts Stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 84.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,498 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 35,961 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.16% of Griffon worth $5,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,379,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $88,066,000 after acquiring an additional 19,644 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 9.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 631,851 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $40,350,000 after buying an additional 55,100 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 7.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 519,926 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $36,395,000 after buying an additional 34,525 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 112.1% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $18,123,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Griffon by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 270,805 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $17,294,000 after acquiring an additional 16,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 1,860,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $140,207,211.10. This represents a 11.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,899,970. This trade represents a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 608,017 shares of company stock valued at $43,198,576. 16.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Griffon Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of GFF traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.30. The stock had a trading volume of 205,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,066. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $70.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.63. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $45.70 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.24 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. Griffon's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from Griffon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is 17.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on GFF shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd. Stephens increased their price objective on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.25.

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.