Marshall Wace LLP Boosts Stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.15% of Griffon worth $4,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $432,954,000 after acquiring an additional 38,707 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Griffon by 1.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,379,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $88,066,000 after purchasing an additional 19,644 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 486.0% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 911,295 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $66,834,000 after buying an additional 755,773 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 631,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,350,000 after buying an additional 55,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 112.1% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $18,123,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on GFF shares. StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $6,226,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,260,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,754,045.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $6,226,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,260,746 shares in the company, valued at $140,754,045.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 1,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.11, for a total transaction of $84,482.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 754,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,866,165.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,720 shares of company stock worth $16,701,903 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $69.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.34. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $38.33 and a 1 year high of $77.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 1.29.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The business had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.94 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.83%.

Griffon Company 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.