Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel Sells 8,697 Shares

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 8,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.10, for a total transaction of $609,659.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 737,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,727,771.40. This trade represents a 1.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GFF opened at $73.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $44.71 and a 12 month high of $80.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.82.

Griffon announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 14.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Griffon by 98.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Griffon in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Griffon in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Griffon in the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Griffon by 56.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.25.

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.