Jennison Associates LLC Invests $659,000 in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,247 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GFF. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Griffon by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $33,144,000 after buying an additional 202,685 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Griffon during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,800,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Griffon by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 164,555 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $11,519,000 after buying an additional 89,948 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Griffon by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $24,423,000 after buying an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Griffon by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $108,914,000 after acquiring an additional 61,210 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded up $0.62 on Tuesday, hitting $79.26. 218,276 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 327,469. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $55.01 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $75.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.07.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.69%.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GFF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 292,309 shares of company stock valued at $22,104,633. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.