Griffon Corporation $GFF Shares Bought by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 330,697 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,108 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.71% of Griffon worth $25,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 123,307.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 191,282 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,565,000 after purchasing an additional 191,127 shares during the last quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 3rd quarter worth $11,042,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Griffon by 2,011.3% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 113,312 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,200,000 after acquiring an additional 107,945 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Griffon by 52.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 295,657 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $21,397,000 after acquiring an additional 101,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Griffon during the second quarter valued at about $5,368,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other Griffon news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at $11,428,653.68. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $295,180.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,333,792.80. This trade represents a 18.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Griffon Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $85.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.95. Griffon Corporation has a 52-week low of $63.92 and a 52-week high of $97.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $649.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.35 million. Griffon had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 228.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

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.