Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 46.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,110 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,457 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Greif were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 4.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 784,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,126,000 after acquiring an additional 30,192 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 9.3% during the third 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. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 15.5% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 302,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,958,000 after acquiring an additional 40,494 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 97.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,133,000 after acquiring an additional 16,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 3.1% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,183 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Greif

In other news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 162,151 shares in the company, valued at $11,006,809.88. The trade was a 0.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director B Andrew Rose bought 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $245,700. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Greif Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE GEF traded down $0.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.17. The company had a trading volume of 90,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,918. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.95 and a 12-month high of $73.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day moving average is $62.79 and its 200 day moving average is $63.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.23). Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti initiated coverage on Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.33.

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.