Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $11.72 Million Stock Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its holdings in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 46.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,934 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 140,766 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.35% of Griffon worth $11,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GFF. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $5,335,000 after purchasing an additional 19,291 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its stake in Griffon by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted 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 valued at $108,914,000 after purchasing an additional 61,210 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Griffon in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,089,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $24,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,399 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

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Griffon Price Performance

Shares of Griffon stock traded up $1.75 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.81. 345,347 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,101. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $74.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.31.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Griffon's payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on GFF shares. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James reiterated 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $98.75.

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.