Insider Selling: Greif (NYSE:GEF) SVP Sells $95,966.00 in Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) SVP Matthew Leahy sold 1,300 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.82, for a total transaction of $95,966.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,739 shares in the company, valued at $202,192.98. The trade was a 32.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF opened at $75.38 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.96. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $75.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.21). Greif had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 7.52%.The company had revenue of $994.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. Greif’s payout ratio is 82.96%.

Greif News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Greif this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer bought roughly 18,322 shares across Feb. 3–4 (total purchase value ~\$1.63M), a strong insider buy that can be seen as management confidence in the business and supports the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan made small purchases (100 and 200 shares on Feb. 3–4), a modest insider buy that provides additional alignment with shareholders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Many insiders executed both buys and sells on nearby dates (different prices and sizes). Paired activity can reflect option exercises, tax/timing needs or rebalancing rather than a pure operational signal — interpret cautiously. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Net insider selling is significant: CFO sold 22,778 shares (~\$1.64M), EVP Bala sold ~13,337 shares (~\$992k across multiple trades) and SVP Kimberly Kellermann sold 5,265 shares (~\$379k). Aggregate proceeds exceed buys, which can exert near‑term pressure on the stock. Read More. Read More. Read More.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Greif by 75.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,352,000 after purchasing an additional 225,659 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. acquired a new position in Greif in the second quarter worth about $9,052,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,052,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in Greif by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,715,000 after purchasing an additional 79,813 shares during the period. Finally, Medina Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 372,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,246,000 after buying an additional 60,338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GEF. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price target on Greif in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.50.

About Greif

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.