Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,800 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 13,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.16% of Griffon worth $4,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,361 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Griffon by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,336 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 671.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 640 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 2.3% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,300 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Trading Down 1.1 %

GFF stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.28. 325,663 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,570. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.75. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $31.27 and a 1 year high of $77.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 1.43.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $672.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $625.22 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 90.02% and a net margin of 7.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 29th. Griffon's payout ratio is 15.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on GFF. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Griffon from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $81.00.

Griffon 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.