Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 6,525 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lessened its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,525 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned about 0.10% of Griffon worth $3,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 19,291 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,914,000 after buying an additional 61,210 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,089,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $24,423,000 after buying an additional 61,399 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE GFF opened at $70.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.40. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.08.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. Analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on GFF shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

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.