Flputnam Investment Management Co. Buys New Stake in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 54,667 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,332,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GFF. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth about $590,633,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in shares of Griffon in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,177,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,536,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 293,278 shares during the period. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Griffon during the first quarter worth approximately $21,070,000. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Up 0.0%

Griffon stock opened at $99.02 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.91. Griffon Corporation has a 52 week low of $65.01 and a 52 week high of $108.57. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total value of $9,492,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,365,471.24. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 22,209 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.08, for a total transaction of $2,267,094.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 763,691 shares in the company, valued at $77,957,577.28. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 298,757 shares of company stock worth $29,818,460 in the last 90 days. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.