William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $32.76 Million Stock Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 535,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11,210 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Greif were worth $32,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 35.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 191.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEF opened at $55.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.43 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.54.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. Equities analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $125,008.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,719.20. This trade represents a 22.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,970,613.09. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 10,225 shares of company stock worth $657,901 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Sidoti assumed coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Greif Company 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.