Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 93,100 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 700,351 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 93,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.47% of Griffon worth $49,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Griffon by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 892,124 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $63,582,000 after purchasing an additional 236,179 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,720 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 101,243 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $7,216,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in Griffon by 393.4% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 16,150 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 12,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Griffon by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 59,704 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,255,000 after buying an additional 4,251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

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Griffon Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GFF stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.01. The stock had a trading volume of 243,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,608. 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's 50-day moving average price is $72.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 1.26. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $55.01 and a 52-week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Equities analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Griffon's payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.