Bank of America Corp DE Sells 73,200 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 44.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,657 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 73,200 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.19% of Griffon worth $6,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 181,635 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $12,945,000 after purchasing an additional 56,484 shares during the period. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth about $443,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Griffon by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 31,298 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 15,860 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 86,937 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 8,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC bought a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Stephens boosted their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.20.

Griffon Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.25. The company had a trading volume of 334,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,333. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $69.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 1.17. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $611.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Griffon's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.91%.

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.