New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $2.57 Million Stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,028 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Greif worth $2,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 35.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 7.0% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 191.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Greif Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:GEF opened at $59.93 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.14 and a 200-day moving average of $63.07. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94. Greif, Inc. has a one year low of $55.95 and a one year high of $73.16.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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, equities research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Greif’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.88 per share, for a total transaction of $37,334.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,151 shares in the company, valued at $11,006,809.88. The trade was a 0.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,613.09. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

About Greif

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.