Matthew Leahy Sells 1,300 Shares of Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock

February 7, 2026 by InsiderTrades.com

Key Points

SVP Matthew Leahy sold 1,300 shares on Feb. 5 at an average price of $73.82 for $95,966, reducing his holding by 32.19% to 2,739 shares (valued at about $202,193).
Insider activity is mixed: CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer bought roughly 18,322 shares (~$1.63M) but aggregate insider selling (including large sales by the CFO, an EVP and another SVP) exceeds buys, which could weigh on the stock.
Greif missed quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.48 vs. $0.69 expected and revenue of $994.8M vs. $1.02B, while paying an annualized dividend of $2.24 (yield ~3.0%) and trading near its 52‑week high (~$75.99).

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) SVP Matthew Leahy sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 32.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Greif Trading Up 1.9%

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GEF opened at $75.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.78. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $75.99. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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

Greif Dividend Announcement

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The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. Greif's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Greif by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 662 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new position in Greif during the second quarter worth $214,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the second quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Greif by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 3,368 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GEF. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on Greif in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Greif presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.50.

Get Our Latest Report on GEF

Key Headlines Impacting Greif

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.

About Greif

(Get Free Report)

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.