Robert F. Mehmel Sells 25,000 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 25,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $1,874,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 712,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,447,162.58. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Griffon Stock Down 4.6 %

GFF stock opened at $73.80 on Friday. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $44.71 and a 1-year high of $80.85. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.18%.

Griffon declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 877,840 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $61,463,000 after purchasing an additional 30,264 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Griffon by 25.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,438 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,300,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 79.6% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 12,658 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 5,609 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 16,301 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 61,399 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GFF shares. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.25.

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.