JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $32.57 Million Stock Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 427,674 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 25,681 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.93% of Griffon worth $32,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GFF. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Griffon by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,955 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,790,000 after acquiring an additional 15,925 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Griffon by 9.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the first quarter valued at about $49,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 21.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,035 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,080,000 after purchasing an additional 14,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,792.80. This trade represents a 18.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. CJS Securities raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Griffon Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $68.26 on Monday. Griffon Corporation has a 1 year low of $63.92 and a 1 year high of $97.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.25 and its 200-day moving average is $77.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.The business had revenue of $649.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $618.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 95.65%.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.