New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 15,697 Shares of Greif, Inc. $GEF

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its Greif stake by 37.7% in the first quarter, selling 15,697 shares and ending with 25,891 shares valued at about $1.74 million.
• Greif’s insider and analyst sentiment remained mixed: SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $73.50 target price.
• The stock and fundamentals showed some strength despite an earnings miss: Greif rose 2.2% to $73.66, reported EPS of $1.10 versus $1.16 expected, and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.62 per share.

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 37.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,891 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,697 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of Greif worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 65,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,296,196.32. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 7.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research raised Greif from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Greif Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Greif stock traded up $1.57 on Friday, hitting $73.66. 146,159 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 226,281. 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 market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $67.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.28. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.75 and a 52 week high of $77.14.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.06). Greif had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Greif's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Greif's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. Greif's payout ratio is presently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.