Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Shares Purchased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,690 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.23% of Greif worth $5,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 104.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,151 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 13.3% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,815 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 1.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,662 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kimberly Anne Kellermann sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.88, for a total value of $610,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,838.24. This trade represents a 71.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total value of $68,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,934,631.76. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 94,741 shares of company stock worth $6,448,252 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Greif Stock Performance

GEF traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.55. 211,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,798. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $63.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. Greif had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 3.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. Greif's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Greif's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GEF shares. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $77.00 price target (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.83.

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.