Quantbot Technologies LP Trims Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 98.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 448 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 23,449 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Griffon were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Griffon by 7.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 519,926 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $36,395,000 after purchasing an additional 34,525 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 109.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 63,122 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,419,000 after buying an additional 33,002 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 33.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,335,000 after buying an additional 19,291 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Griffon by 74.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $33,144,000 after buying an additional 202,685 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

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Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.20. 617,839 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 430,194. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $73.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $55.01 and a 52-week high of $86.73. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.26.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

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 value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.