Robert Mehmel Sells 14,852 Shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert Mehmel sold 14,852 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,562,133.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 748,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,762,886.02. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Stock Up 0.8%

Griffon stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $107.16. 274,481 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,398. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34 and a beta of 1.44. Griffon Corporation has a twelve month low of $65.01 and a twelve month high of $108.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.55 and a 200-day moving average of $85.93.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.70 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The firm’s revenue was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 676.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Griffon by 20.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,955 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,790,000 after purchasing an additional 15,925 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Griffon by 9.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,035 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,080,000 after buying an additional 14,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens boosted their price objective on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.50.

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.