Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 44,088 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 568,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,088 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $34,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Greif by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Greif by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Greif by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,272,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Greif by 28.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEF opened at $55.94 on Monday. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.43 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.68 and a 200-day moving average of $62.62.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is 61.71%.

Insider Activity at Greif

In other news, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.50 per share, for a total transaction of $58,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.88 per share, for a total transaction of $37,334.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 162,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,006,809.88. The trade was a 0.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 10,225 shares of company stock worth $657,901 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti assumed coverage on Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

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.