Insider Selling: Griffon (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells $9,492,000.00 in Stock

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total transaction of $9,492,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,365,471.24. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF opened at $88.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 684.36 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. Griffon Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.01 and a 52-week high of $97.58.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $421.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. Griffon’s revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $73,835,000 after buying an additional 293,278 shares during the period. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth about $21,070,000. Voss Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $129,624,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 166.4% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 324,553 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $24,715,000 after buying an additional 202,714 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 255.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 241,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,570,000 after buying an additional 173,682 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

About Griffon

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.