Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Shares Bought by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $4,219,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Greif by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 298,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,229,000 after purchasing an additional 60,313 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,760,000 after purchasing an additional 44,088 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $2,594,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Greif by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,746,000 after buying an additional 24,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GEF shares. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Greif has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

Insider Transactions at Greif

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

Greif Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GEF opened at $54.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.23 and a 52 week high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.