William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $32.76 Million Stock Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 535,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,210 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.14% of Greif worth $32,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Greif by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,594,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Greif by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,760,000 after purchasing an additional 44,088 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Greif by 5.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Greif by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares during the period. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:GEF opened at $55.88 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.52 and its 200-day moving average is $62.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.43 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. Equities analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,151 shares in the company, valued at $11,006,809.88. The trade was a 0.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 7,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,719.20. The trade was a 22.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,225 shares of company stock valued at $657,901 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GEF. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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 restated a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target 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. Sidoti began coverage on shares of Greif in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

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.