Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 2,498 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 283.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,380 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Griffon were worth $236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at $557,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $432,954,000 after acquiring an additional 38,707 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Griffon by 228.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 42,934 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Griffon by 62.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,724 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after acquiring an additional 18,256 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Griffon by 659.0% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 26,452 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $73.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $44.71 and a 1 year high of $80.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.82.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Griffon news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,899,970. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total transaction of $279,697.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,825.36. This trade represents a 17.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 606,742 shares of company stock valued at $42,931,300. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.25.

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.