Meritage Portfolio Management Invests $5.01 Million in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)

Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 70,067 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $5,010,000. Meritage Portfolio Management owned approximately 0.15% of Griffon at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth about $21,451,000. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 20.5% during the first quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 20,829 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Griffon by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $38,358,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Griffon by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 59,704 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 4,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Griffon during the first quarter worth $1,443,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:GFF traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.87. The company had a trading volume of 176,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,816. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.83. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.12.

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. Griffon had a return on equity of 114.46% and a net margin of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $611.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.23 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Griffon's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on GFF shares. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $98.20.

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.