Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 11,673 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 45.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,801 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 11,673 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Griffon were worth $966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GFF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Griffon by 1.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,379,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $88,066,000 after purchasing an additional 19,644 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 631,851 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $40,350,000 after buying an additional 55,100 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in Griffon by 112.1% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $18,123,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Griffon by 6.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 270,805 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $17,294,000 after buying an additional 16,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lodge Hill Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 190.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC now owns 251,700 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $16,074,000 after purchasing an additional 165,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given 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 $89.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 912 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total transaction of $63,894.72. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 746,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,307,566.66. This represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $339,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,899,970. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 603,517 shares of company stock worth $42,818,506. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of GFF traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $83.51. 340,536 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,122. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.43.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $659.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.24 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Griffon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.02%.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.