Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 845 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 343.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $78,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,335,000 after buying an additional 19,291 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its position in Griffon by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,914,000 after buying an additional 61,210 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,089,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 21.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $24,423,000 after buying an additional 61,399 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens increased their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $98.75.

Griffon Stock Up 1.5 %

GFF stock opened at $70.47 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.14. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.40.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Research analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

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.