NewEdge Wealth LLC Buys 6,859 Shares of Griffon Corporation $GFF

NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 57.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,754 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,859 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $1,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Griffon by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 51,175 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,719,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Griffon by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 16,432 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter valued at about $21,070,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 68.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 391,441 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,450,000 after acquiring an additional 158,592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:GFF opened at $90.62 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.14. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $65.01 and a 12 month high of $98.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 697.11 and a beta of 1.41.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. The company had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $414.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total transaction of $9,492,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,365,471.24. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 7,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total value of $755,965.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 790,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,889,599.04. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 129,389 shares of company stock worth $12,309,525 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Profile

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.