Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 90.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 44,282 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Greif were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif in the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in shares of Greif by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif in the 3rd quarter worth $244,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Greif by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,819 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Greif in the 3rd quarter worth $275,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,807 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.37 per share, with a total value of $123,544.59. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 23,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,579,347. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,925 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.86 per share, with a total value of $132,555.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 10,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,321.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,807 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.37 per share, with a total value of $123,544.59. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 23,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,579,347. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 42,934 shares of company stock valued at $2,864,352 and sold 6,000 shares valued at $384,620. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Greif Stock Performance

GEF traded up $0.38 on Friday, reaching $61.92. 99,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 191,696. The company's 50-day moving average price is $64.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.70. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.37 and a fifty-two week high of $76.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.87.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.53%. The firm's revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Greif's payout ratio is 35.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Greif from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised Greif from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 1st. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Greif in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a "hold" rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.25.

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.