Fmr LLC Increases Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,213 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 19,291 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 0.15% of Griffon worth $5,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 228.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 42,934 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 659.0% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 26,452 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in Griffon by 125.6% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 17,426 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 9,701 shares during the last quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Griffon by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 30,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,916,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the third quarter worth $2,089,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total transaction of $18,216,389.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,860,746 shares in the company, valued at $140,207,211.10. This trade represents a 11.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total value of $380,070.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,631,091.52. The trade was a 18.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 484,765 shares of company stock valued at $35,496,152 in the last three months. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company's stock.

Griffon Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:GFF traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.49. 221,522 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 431,940. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.39. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $72.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.48. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $54.74 and a twelve month high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $659.70 million during 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Griffon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Griffon's payout ratio is presently 17.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.