Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 60,313 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,313 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Greif worth $18,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 801,429 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,983,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 8.4% in the fourth 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. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 535,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,210 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 34.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 24,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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 dropped their price target on Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Emkes bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,473,523.73. This represents a 7.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller purchased 1,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.50 per share, with a total value of $58,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of Greif stock opened at $56.36 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $53.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. Greif, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.23 and a 12 month high of $73.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Greif's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.71%.

Greif Company 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.

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