Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 46.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,457 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GEF. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Greif during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Greif by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 22,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Greif by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Greif by 24.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 14.3% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, Director B Andrew Rose acquired 3,500 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.20 per share, with a total value of $245,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $245,700. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.88 per share, for a total transaction of $37,334.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,006,809.88. The trade was a 0.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti assumed coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.33.

Greif Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE GEF opened at $61.64 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.32. Greif, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.95 and a 12 month high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

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

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.