Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $1,874,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 712,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,447,162.58. The trade was a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF traded down $3.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.80. 569,853 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 436,113. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $44.71 and a 1-year high of $80.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.31 and its 200-day moving average is $66.78. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Griffon in the first quarter valued at $557,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Griffon by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $432,954,000 after purchasing an additional 38,707 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Griffon by 228.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 42,934 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Griffon by 62.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,724 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 18,256 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Griffon by 659.0% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 26,452 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.