Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 24,850 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 26.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24,850 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $4,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Greif by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Greif by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 6,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Greif by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its stake in Greif by 50.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 10.4% during the third quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Price Performance

Greif stock opened at $69.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.56. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.95 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 4.99%. On average, research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Sidoti initiated coverage on Greif in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Greif Company 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.