Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,080 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 13,145 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.09% of Griffon worth $2,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,843 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $454,406,000 after purchasing an additional 177,771 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Griffon by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 892,124 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $63,582,000 after buying an additional 236,179 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 700,351 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $49,914,000 after acquiring an additional 93,100 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth $43,325,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 558,118 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $40,428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Trading Up 0.4 %

GFF traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.10. 350,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,506. The firm's fifty day moving average is $69.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.84. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. Equities analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon's payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $97.20.

About Griffon

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.