Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Stock Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Greif were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Greif by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Greif by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in Greif by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 11,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,173,901.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,173,901.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Anthony John Krabill purchased 745 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.12 per share, with a total value of $47,024.40. Following the acquisition, the treasurer now owns 1,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,211.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 42,934 shares of company stock valued at $2,864,352 and sold 6,000 shares valued at $384,620. Insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Greif Stock Performance

GEF opened at $61.94 on Friday. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.37 and a 12-month high of $76.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.71.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. Greif’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.