Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Takes $1.85 Million Position in Greif, Inc. $GEF

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,853,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Greif at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Greif by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Greif by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Simplex Trading LLC boosted its position in Greif by 399.5% in the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $146,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 63,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,668,672.48. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $412,120 in the last three months. 7.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Greif Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:GEF opened at $86.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.75 and a 52 week high of $88.50.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GEF shares. Weiss Ratings raised Greif from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America lowered Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $78.25.

Greif Profile

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.