Bala Sathyanarayanan Acquires 1,811 Shares of Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan bought 1,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.10 per share, for a total transaction of $159,549.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $592,913. This represents a 36.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Bala Sathyanarayanan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 5th, Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 10,838 shares of Greif stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $811,766.20.
• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 2,499 shares of Greif stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total value of $180,652.71.
• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Bala Sathyanarayanan acquired 100 shares of Greif stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $87.69 per share, for a total transaction of $8,769.00.
• On Wednesday, February 4th, Bala Sathyanarayanan bought 200 shares of Greif stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $89.22 per share, with a total value of $17,844.00.
• On Wednesday, December 10th, Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 7,000 shares of Greif stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $466,340.00.

Greif Stock Performance

NYSE:GEF opened at $75.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.93 and its 200-day moving average is $64.76. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $75.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.96.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.21). Greif had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business had revenue of $994.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. Greif’s payout ratio is 82.96%.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GEF. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 84.9% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 147.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 6,835 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 3.7% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 97,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,509 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,240,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Greif by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 115,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,517,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GEF. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Greif from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price objective on Greif in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

Greif News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Greif this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer bought roughly 18,322 shares across Feb. 3–4 (total purchase value ~\$1.63M), a strong insider buy that can be seen as management confidence in the business and supports the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan made small purchases (100 and 200 shares on Feb. 3–4), a modest insider buy that provides additional alignment with shareholders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Many insiders executed both buys and sells on nearby dates (different prices and sizes). Paired activity can reflect option exercises, tax/timing needs or rebalancing rather than a pure operational signal — interpret cautiously. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Net insider selling is significant: CFO sold 22,778 shares (~\$1.64M), EVP Bala sold ~13,337 shares (~\$992k across multiple trades) and SVP Kimberly Kellermann sold 5,265 shares (~\$379k). Aggregate proceeds exceed buys, which can exert near‑term pressure on the stock. Read More. Read More. Read More.

Greif Company Profile

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.