Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells 67,164 Shares of Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 67,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total value of $4,706,853.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,102,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,343,410.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Griffon Trading Up 18.2 %

GFF opened at $80.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $44.03 and a 12-month high of $80.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.70.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 16.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in Griffon by 98.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Griffon during the second quarter worth about $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Griffon in the first quarter worth about $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Griffon in the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 56.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.