Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Position Reduced by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,511 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Greif worth $4,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Greif by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Greif by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Greif by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Greif

In other Greif news, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.50 per share, for a total transaction of $58,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes acquired 3,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $55.89 per share, with a total value of $167,670.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,523.73. The trade was a 7.27 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on GEF shares. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Greif Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Greif stock opened at $55.31 on Wednesday. Greif, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.43 and a 1 year high of $73.16. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.19.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. As a group, 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 Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is 61.71%.

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.