Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock Position Trimmed by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,478 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Griffon by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,335,000 after buying an additional 19,291 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $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 third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,914,000 after purchasing an additional 61,210 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Griffon by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $38,358,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Griffon by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $24,423,000 after buying an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Down 2.0 %

Griffon stock opened at $70.53 on Monday. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $86.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GFF shares. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens upped their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.