O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 572 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 572 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Greif were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,219,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Greif by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,760,000 after buying an additional 44,088 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Greif in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,594,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Greif by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 801,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,983,000 after acquiring an additional 17,425 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Greif by 97.0% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Greif Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:GEF opened at $52.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.44. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 61.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Greif news, Director Mark A. Emkes bought 3,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 44,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,523.73. This trade represents a 7.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.50 per share, for a total transaction of $58,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.