Primecap Management Co. CA Acquires New Shares in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 411,947 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $40,177,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at about $590,633,000. Voss Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $129,624,000 after acquiring an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,535,473 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $113,088,000 after acquiring an additional 11,169 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 293,278 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 867,195 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $63,869,000 after purchasing an additional 79,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $100.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.36 and its 200 day moving average is $87.85. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $65.01 and a one year high of $108.57.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%.The business had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.50.

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total transaction of $347,198.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 723,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,480,109.12. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.42, for a total transaction of $10,242,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,684,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,505,698.74. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 298,757 shares of company stock valued at $29,818,460. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Griffon Profile

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.