Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Shares Sold by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 91.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,064 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 39,526 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,899,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Griffon by 1.3% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,753 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Griffon by 2.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,562 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Griffon by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,074 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 65.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $67.88 on Friday. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $38.33 and a 12-month high of $77.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.34 and its 200-day moving average is $67.34.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a return on equity of 96.05% and a net margin of 7.27%. The company had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 15.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at $13,899,970. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 12,943 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.19, for a total transaction of $882,583.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 762,914 shares in the company, valued at $52,023,105.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $339,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,899,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 168,799 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,347. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Griffon Profile

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.