Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Shares Bought by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Greif were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GEF. Quarry LP boosted its position in Greif by 71.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Greif by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Greif in the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti assumed coverage on Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.33.

Greif Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GEF opened at $61.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.95 and a 12-month high of $73.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.48 and a 200 day moving average of $63.29.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director B Andrew Rose purchased 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,700. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer purchased 1,100 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.61 per share, for a total transaction of $74,371.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 163,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,400.11. This trade represents a 0.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Greif Profile

Greif, Inc engages in the production and sale of industrial packaging products and services worldwide. The company operates through Global Industrial Packaging; Paper Packaging & Services; and Land Management segments. The Global Industrial Packaging segment produces and sells industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber, and plastic drums; rigid and flexible intermediate bulk containers; closure systems for industrial packaging products; transit protection products; water bottles, and remanufactured and reconditioned industrial containers; and various services, such as container life cycle management, filling, logistics, warehousing, and other packaging services to chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, mineral product, and other industries.