Level Four Advisory Services LLC Acquires 1,239 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Greif were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Greif in the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Greif by 191.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other Greif news, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 owns 7,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,719.20. The trade was a 22.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $45,037.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at $1,970,613.09. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Greif Stock Performance

Greif stock opened at $54.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.25. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.71%.

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.