Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 16,680 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 120.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,481 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,680 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Griffon were worth $2,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,335,000 after acquiring an additional 19,291 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its stake in Griffon by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Griffon by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,914,000 after purchasing an additional 61,210 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $24,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Griffon by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,728,000 after purchasing an additional 9,417 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GFF opened at $70.61 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.40. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $55.01 and a 52-week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s payout ratio is 14.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $98.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.