Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $5.61 Million Investment in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 91,978 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $5,606,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.18% of Griffon at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GFF. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Griffon by 931.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,165 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 64.5% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,754 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Griffon by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,290 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in Griffon by 116.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,373 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 2,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.38, for a total value of $134,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,269,641.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 16.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their price objective on Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 11th.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF stock traded down $1.14 on Monday, hitting $72.20. The company had a trading volume of 242,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,312. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.41. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $25.97 and a twelve month high of $74.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $643.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.87 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 72.80% and a net margin of 2.65%. Griffon's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Griffon's payout ratio is 44.78%.

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.