Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock Position Lifted by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 44.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,871 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 7,935 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of Griffon worth $1,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lodge Hill Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 190.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC now owns 251,700 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $16,074,000 after buying an additional 165,000 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 112.1% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $18,123,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,433,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 164,555 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $11,519,000 after purchasing an additional 89,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 94.3% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 128,870 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,230,000 after purchasing an additional 62,559 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.25.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 912 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $63,894.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 746,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,307,566.66. This represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total transaction of $18,216,389.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,860,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,207,211.10. The trade was a 11.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 603,517 shares of company stock valued at $42,818,506 in the last three months. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of GFF stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.41. 697,035 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 440,777. The company's 50 day moving average price is $69.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.22. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.66.

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

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Griffon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is 14.18%.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.