Bailard Inc. Has $570,000 Stock Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of Greif by 5.3% in the third 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 during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Greif by 4.1% during the third 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 during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Greif by 4.4% during the third 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 during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Greif by 4.7% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Investors Research Corp grew its stake in Greif by 2.3% during the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.98 per share, for a total transaction of $275,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 17,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,901.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 14,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.60 per share, for a total transaction of $959,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,753,537.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Gary R. Martz bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.98 per share, for a total transaction of $275,920.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 17,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,901.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 42,934 shares of company stock worth $2,864,352 and have sold 6,000 shares worth $384,620. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Greif stock opened at $61.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.57. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.37 and a 52 week high of $76.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Greif Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Greif from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 1st. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Greif in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They set 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Greif 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.