XTX Topco Ltd Buys 5,620 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 192.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Greif were worth $491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Greif by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,943,000 after buying an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Greif by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Greif by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter worth about $10,972,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Greif in the fourth quarter valued at about $192,000. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Greif Trading Down 0.1 %

GEF opened at $62.38 on Wednesday. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.95 and a twelve month high of $71.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.99 and a 200-day moving average of $62.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 4.99%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Greif’s payout ratio is 46.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEF has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Greif in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.