Flputnam Investment Management Co. Invests $5.33 Million in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 54,667 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,332,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,258 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 25,790 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth $1,265,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. raised its holdings in Griffon by 42.9% in the first quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 415,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,201,000 after acquiring an additional 124,750 shares in the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Griffon in the first quarter valued at $1,547,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Griffon by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,910 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,264,000 after acquiring an additional 10,094 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.42, for a total transaction of $10,242,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,684,297 shares in the company, valued at $172,505,698.74. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total transaction of $347,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 723,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,480,109.12. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 298,757 shares of company stock worth $29,818,460 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.50.

Griffon Stock Up 0.0%

Griffon stock opened at $104.17 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.41. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $65.01 and a one year high of $108.57.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.70 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.45%.

Griffon Company 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.