Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $4.96 Million in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 69,600 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $4,960,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.15% of Griffon as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 116.1% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 376 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Griffon by 343.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE:GFF traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $70.13. The stock had a trading volume of 348,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 1.15. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.22.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. The company had revenue of $611.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Griffon's payout ratio is 14.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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