Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 5,069 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 39,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,069 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Griffon were worth $2,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 238,400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $16,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Griffon by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,701 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Griffon by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,664 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $136,000. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE GFF opened at $71.99 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.63. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $86.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 14.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on GFF shares. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

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.