Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2.83 Million Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,069 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of Griffon worth $2,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.19 and its 200-day moving average is $72.63. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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