Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 26.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24,850 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Greif worth $4,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GEF. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Greif by 16.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after buying an additional 53,110 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Greif during the 3rd quarter valued at about $518,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 97.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 16,759 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Greif by 12.3% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 262,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,061,000 after purchasing an additional 28,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 9.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,874,000 after purchasing an additional 44,473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Stock Performance

Greif stock opened at $60.50 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.11. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.95 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued 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 yield of 3.57%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other Greif news, Director B Andrew Rose purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.20 per share, with a total value of $245,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,700. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer acquired 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.61 per share, for a total transaction of $74,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 163,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,400.11. The trade was a 0.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sidoti began coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Greif presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.67.

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.