Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,645 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,453 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Greif were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 35.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Greif during the 3rd quarter worth $518,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Greif by 9.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Greif by 191.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,608 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company's stock.
Greif Trading Up 1.1 %
Shares of GEF stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $55.63. 173,766 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 166,874. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $59.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.43. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.43 and a 1-year high of $73.16.
Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Greif Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Greif's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.71%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $125,008.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $418,719.20. The trade was a 22.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $55.89 per share, with a total value of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,523.73. This trade represents a 7.27 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 5,075 shares of company stock valued at $300,496. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on GEF
About Greif
(
Free Report)
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.
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