Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Stock Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 35.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,166 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Greif were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,279,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Greif by 7,222.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 233,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,264,000 after buying an additional 230,183 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at $7,473,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at $4,219,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 298,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,229,000 after acquiring an additional 60,313 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Greif stock opened at $65.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.66. Greif, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.23 and a 1 year high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 3.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Greif’s payout ratio is 60.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Greif news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total transaction of $68,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,934,631.76. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kimberly Anne Kellermann sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.88, for a total transaction of $610,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,548 shares in the company, valued at $240,838.24. This represents a 71.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,741 shares of company stock valued at $6,448,252. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Greif currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.83.

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.