Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) EVP Sells $1,998,100.00 in Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) EVP Gary R. Martz sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $1,998,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,698,015.40. The trade was a 29.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Greif Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:GEF traded down $0.22 on Friday, reaching $67.27. 101,462 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 179,090. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $60.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.58. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.23 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 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 (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.11. Greif had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 3.74%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Greif's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Greif's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $77.00 price target (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,594,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Greif by 217.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 20,706 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $448,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Greif by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 535,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Greif by 8.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Greif Company 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.