Meritage Portfolio Management Increases Stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Greif were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,943,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Greif by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 69,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,540,000 after acquiring an additional 38,260 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 94.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 78,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,159,000 after purchasing an additional 38,229 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 6.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 402,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,883,000 after purchasing an additional 24,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 338.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 20,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Greif

In related news, VP Gary R. Martz purchased 4,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.98 per share, for a total transaction of $275,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,901.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ole G. Rosgaard acquired 4,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.00 per share, for a total transaction of $315,235.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $315,235. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gary R. Martz bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.98 per share, with a total value of $275,920.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 17,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,901.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 42,934 shares of company stock worth $2,864,352 and have sold 6,000 shares worth $384,620. 3.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GEF shares. Truist Financial began coverage on Greif in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Greif from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.25.

Greif Trading Up 0.6 %

Greif stock opened at $61.94 on Friday. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.37 and a 52-week high of $76.00. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.71.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $1.07. Greif had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

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.