The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Greif were worth $1,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Greif by 59.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 753,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,321,000 after buying an additional 280,330 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Greif by 17.6% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,053,000 after purchasing an additional 80,754 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Greif in the second quarter worth about $4,012,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Greif by 16.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after purchasing an additional 53,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Greif by 450.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 46,176 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greif Trading Down 0.2 %

GEF stock opened at $61.78 on Friday. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.95 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.40.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. Research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Greif in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Greif 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.