Ole G. Rosgaard Sells 19,248 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) CEO Ole G. Rosgaard sold 19,248 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,347,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,475,120. The trade was a 19.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of GEF stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $69.78. 36,776 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 177,309. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.99. Greif, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.23 and a 12 month high of $73.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.32.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Greif's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Greif's payout ratio is 60.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GEF. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Greif by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Greif by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,760,000 after acquiring an additional 44,088 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,594,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,452 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

About Greif

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.