Wells Fargo & Company MN Purchases 4,251 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,704 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 4,251 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.13% of Griffon worth $4,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Griffon in the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Trading Down 0.5 %

Griffon stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.86. 267,930 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,554. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.26.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GFF. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Stephens raised their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $97.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Griffon 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.