Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel Sells 25,000 Shares

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 25,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $1,874,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 712,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,447,162.58. This represents a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Griffon Stock Down 4.6 %

NYSE GFF traded down $3.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.80. 569,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 436,113. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $44.71 and a 52-week high of $80.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 0.98%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is 14.18%.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens boosted their price objective on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $87.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 98.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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