William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $32.76 Million Stock Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 535,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 11,210 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.14% of Greif worth $32,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Greif during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Greif by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Greif in the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Greif by 191.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the period. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the company'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 transaction of $45,037.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at $1,970,613.09. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $125,008.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $418,719.20. This represents a 22.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 6,175 shares of company stock valued at $374,867 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GEF shares. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.00.

Greif Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of GEF stock traded down $1.11 on Friday, hitting $55.16. 325,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,089. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.43 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.34 and a 200 day moving average of $62.40.

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

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.71%.

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.