Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Shares Purchased by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Greif were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Greif during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,219,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,874,000 after acquiring an additional 44,473 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter valued at $2,594,000. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 302,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,958,000 after acquiring an additional 40,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 801,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,983,000 after acquiring an additional 17,425 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GEF shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Greif has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

Greif Price Performance

NYSE GEF opened at $54.89 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 61.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,613.09. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $125,008.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,719.20. This trade represents a 22.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Greif 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.