Primecap Management Co. CA Makes New Investment in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• Primecap Management acquired 411,947 Griffon shares worth approximately $40.2 million, giving it a 0.91% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 73.22% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Griffon holding a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $122.50; recent targets range from $120 to $125.
• Griffon exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.51 in EPS and $481.37 million in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share. Revenue nevertheless declined 21.5% year over year, and insiders have sold roughly $29.8 million in stock over the past 90 days.

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 411,947 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $40,177,000. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.91% of Griffon at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,265,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 415,531 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $30,201,000 after purchasing an additional 124,750 shares during the period. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,547,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 29.0% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,910 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,264,000 after purchasing an additional 10,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon in the first quarter worth $1,135,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $122.50.

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $318,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,187,738.68. This trade represents a 9.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total transaction of $347,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 723,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,480,109.12. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 298,757 shares of company stock valued at $29,818,460. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Griffon Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $100.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.85. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.01 and a 12-month high of $108.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 1.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%.The firm had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $457.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is 22.45%.

Griffon Profile

Griffon Corporation NYSE: GFF is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon's portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon's Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.

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