Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 26,751 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 103.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,622 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,751 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Griffon worth $3,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 343.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 86.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Up 2.5 %

GFF opened at $71.81 on Thursday. Griffon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.40.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. On average, analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 14.69%.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

About Griffon

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.