Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its stake in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 215,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,505 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Greif were worth $13,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted 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 worth $149,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the third quarter worth about $200,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $242,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF opened at $52.37 on Thursday. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $73.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Insider Activity at Greif

In related news, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $125,008.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,719.20. The trade was a 22.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $55.89 per share, with a total value of $167,670.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 44,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,473,523.73. This represents a 7.27 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.