Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases 1,454 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Greif were worth $611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GEF. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $5,159,000 after buying an additional 38,229 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $2,943,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 338.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 20,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ole G. Rosgaard acquired 4,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.00 per share, for a total transaction of $315,235.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $315,235. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ole G. Rosgaard acquired 4,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.00 per share, for a total transaction of $315,235.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $315,235. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total transaction of $126,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 62,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,933,815.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 42,934 shares of company stock worth $2,864,352 and sold 6,000 shares worth $384,620. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Up 0.6 %

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

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

Greif Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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