Greif, Inc. $GEF Shares Sold by Systematic Financial Management LP

Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 299,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 17,683 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 0.65% of Greif worth $20,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Greif by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 899,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,793 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,715,000 after acquiring an additional 79,813 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Greif by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 567,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Greif by 75.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,352,000 after purchasing an additional 225,659 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 325,951 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,067,000 after purchasing an additional 177,203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In related news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $146,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 63,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,668,672.48. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $412,120. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GEF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America lowered shares of Greif from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Greif presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $74.25.

Greif Price Performance

Greif stock opened at $76.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.76. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.75 and a 12-month high of $77.42.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.06). Greif had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 7.50%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This is an increase from Greif's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.02%.

Greif Company Profile

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif's longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company's core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.

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