Insider Selling: Griffon (NYSE:GFF) COO Sells 3,272 Shares of Stock

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert Mehmel sold 3,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.40, for a total value of $312,148.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 806,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,941,626.40. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE GFF traded down $0.56 on Tuesday, reaching $94.17. 327,681 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 344,229. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 724.46 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.71. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $65.01 and a 12 month high of $97.58.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $421.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 298.42% and a net margin of 0.31%.The company’s revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 676.92%.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 41.4% during 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 in the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the first quarter worth $21,070,000. Voss Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $129,624,000 after acquiring an additional 225,000 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 166.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 324,553 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $24,715,000 after acquiring an additional 202,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 255.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 241,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,570,000 after acquiring an additional 173,682 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on Griffon in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

About Griffon

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.