Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC cut its holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 52.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,002 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Greif were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Greif by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Greif by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 22,578 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Greif in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,875,000 after buying an additional 4,036 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Greif by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other Greif news, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $125,008.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $418,719.20. This represents a 22.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,523.73. This represents a 7.27 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Greif Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE GEF traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.33. The stock had a trading volume of 102,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,557. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.23 and a 52-week high of $73.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The business's fifty day moving average price is $54.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. Analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.71%.

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.