Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 15,505 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 215,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,505 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.46% of Greif worth $13,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Greif by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Greif Trading Up 6.9 %

Shares of Greif stock opened at $52.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.23 and a 12-month high of $73.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.60.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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. Analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 61.71%.

Insider Transactions at Greif

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

About Greif

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.