Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 44,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,943,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.10% of Greif as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 4.1% during the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,445 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Greif by 338.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 20,733 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,385,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Greif by 8.1% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new position in Greif in the third quarter worth about $342,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 6.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 402,383 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,883,000 after acquiring an additional 24,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Greif from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Greif from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th.

Greif Stock Performance

Greif stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.75. 167,047 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 164,357. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Greif, Inc. has a one year low of $59.37 and a one year high of $76.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.10. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.87.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $1.07. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. Greif had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company's revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Greif's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Insider Activity at Greif

In other news, VP Gary R. Martz acquired 1,925 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.86 per share, with a total value of $132,555.50. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 10,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,321.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $130,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,816,501.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gary R. Martz acquired 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.86 per share, for a total transaction of $132,555.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,321.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 37,127 shares of company stock worth $2,464,887 and have sold 6,000 shares worth $384,620. Company insiders own 3.07% 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.