Marshall Wace LLP Lowers Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Marshall Wace LLP cut its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 83.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,083 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 64,108 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Griffon were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Griffon by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,934 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,977 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,701 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 owned by insiders.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF traded up $2.02 on Friday, reaching $71.09. The stock had a trading volume of 337,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,451. The business's 50-day moving average price is $69.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.85. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.26. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon's payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GFF shares. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon 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.