Private Management Group Inc. Sells 20,910 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Private Management Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 293,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,910 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $19,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 9,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Greif by 94.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 38,229 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Greif by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $472,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $62.15. 148,775 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 171,852. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.37 and a fifty-two week high of $76.00. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.19 and its 200 day moving average is $64.78.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $1.07. Greif had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.53%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. Greif’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In related news, VP Gary R. Martz purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.98 per share, with a total value of $275,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 17,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,901.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Greif news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.98 per share, with a total value of $275,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 17,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,901.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total value of $126,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 62,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,933,815.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 42,934 shares of company stock worth $2,864,352 and sold 6,000 shares worth $384,620. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Greif from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Greif in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Greif presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.25.

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.