Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells $18,216,389.95 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total transaction of $18,216,389.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,860,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,207,211.10. This represents a 11.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Griffon Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of GFF opened at $73.80 on Friday. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $44.71 and a 12 month high of $80.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.18%.

Griffon declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Griffon by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,566 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,168,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Griffon by 14.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,014 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Griffon by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,724 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 18,256 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Griffon by 353.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,123 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 11,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Griffon by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 18,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,880 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.