William Blair Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Greif, Inc. $GEF

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management cut its Greif position by 9.4% in Q4, selling 29,523 shares and ending with 285,082 shares worth about $19.3 million.
• Greif also saw a recent insider sale: SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares for $135,320 under a pre-arranged trading plan, while insiders have sold 6,000 shares over the last 90 days.
• The company recently missed earnings expectations, reporting $1.10 EPS versus $1.16 expected and revenue of $1.07 billion versus $1.10 billion forecast; analysts currently rate the stock Hold with a consensus price target of $73.50.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 285,082 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,523 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.62% of Greif worth $19,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Greif by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 895,344 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,506,000 after purchasing an additional 54,256 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,220,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Greif by 10.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 144,524 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,637,000 after buying an additional 13,393 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 78,173 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,672,000 after buying an additional 18,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 79,813 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.66, for a total value of $135,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 67,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,589,513.12. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $411,140. Corporate insiders own 7.70% of the company's stock.

Greif Trading Up 0.1%

Greif stock opened at $64.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.46 and a 200 day moving average of $68.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.82. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.03 and a 12-month high of $77.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GEF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on shares of Greif in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.50.

About Greif

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.