Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 27,832 Shares of Greif, Inc. $GEF

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Greif, Inc. by 4.9%, acquiring a total of 596,557 shares valued at approximately $32.8 million.
• Greif recently reported quarterly earnings, posting $1.19 earnings per share, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.08, along with a revenue of $1.39 billion.
• Greif's annualized dividend of $2.16 per share translates to a dividend yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 60.85%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 596,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,832 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.26% of Greif worth $32,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GEF. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,279,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 7,222.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 233,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,264,000 after purchasing an additional 230,183 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,473,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 25.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 23.7% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 212,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,707,000 after purchasing an additional 40,813 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:GEF traded down $0.0440 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.8860. The stock had a trading volume of 290,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,573. Greif, Inc. has a one year low of $48.23 and a one year high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day moving average is $66.22 and its 200-day moving average is $59.67.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. Greif had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Greif's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.85%.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.12, for a total value of $136,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 70,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,814,585.36. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total transaction of $68,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,934,631.76. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 94,741 shares of company stock valued at $6,448,252. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GEF. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Greif to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.33.

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.