New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 15,697 Shares of Greif, Inc. $GEF

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 37.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,697 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Greif were worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Greif by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 899,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,793 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in shares of Greif by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,715,000 after purchasing an additional 79,813 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Greif by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 567,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Greif by 75.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,352,000 after purchasing an additional 225,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 325,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,067,000 after purchasing an additional 177,203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Greif from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In related news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 65,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,296,196.32. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 7.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of GEF stock traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.66. The stock had a trading volume of 146,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,281. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.75 and a 1-year high of $77.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.84 and its 200-day moving average is $69.28.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.27%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 95.02%.

About Greif

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.