Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells $18,216,389.95 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total transaction of $18,216,389.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,860,746 shares in the company, valued at $140,207,211.10. The trade was a 11.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Griffon Stock Down 4.6 %

NYSE:GFF opened at $73.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $44.71 and a 52 week high of $80.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.82.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.18%.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Griffon by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,566 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,168,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 14.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,014 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 62.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,724 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after buying an additional 18,256 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Griffon by 353.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,123 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 11,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Griffon by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 18,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,350,000 after buying an additional 5,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.25.

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.