8,200 Shares in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $584,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Griffon by 109.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 63,122 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,419,000 after purchasing an additional 33,002 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Griffon by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,335,000 after acquiring an additional 19,291 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Griffon by 6.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,761 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 74.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $33,144,000 after purchasing an additional 202,685 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Griffon by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on GFF shares. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.20.

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Griffon Trading Down 2.2 %

Griffon stock traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $66.78. 786,858 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,616. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $73.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.97. Griffon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.34 and a fifty-two week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.69%.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

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.