PFS Partners LLC Sells 750 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

PFS Partners LLC trimmed its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 50.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 750 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $55,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,952,411 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $236,132,000 after acquiring an additional 77,058 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,598,353 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $97,420,000 after acquiring an additional 289,208 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Griffon by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,354,467 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $82,557,000 after acquiring an additional 30,710 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Griffon by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 529,181 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,254,000 after acquiring an additional 97,390 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 522,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF traded up $0.58 on Thursday, hitting $64.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 345,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,432. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $38.33 and a 12 month high of $77.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.58.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $672.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.22 million. Griffon had a net margin of 7.48% and a return on equity of 90.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 29th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.07, for a total transaction of $6,707,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,500,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,725,034.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.88, for a total transaction of $869,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 48,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,234,851.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.07, for a total transaction of $6,707,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,500,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,725,034.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Griffon presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.