Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 501 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $2,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Globe Life by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in Globe Life by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Globe Life by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Globe Life by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 784 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Globe Life by 4.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 81.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Globe Life in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Globe Life has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Globe Life

In other Globe Life news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total value of $1,345,410.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,529.88. The trade was a 36.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.52, for a total value of $3,024,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,735,998.96. This represents a 38.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,338 shares of company stock worth $7,239,630 in the last ninety days. 1.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Globe Life Price Performance

NYSE:GL opened at $125.55 on Monday. Globe Life Inc. has a one year low of $38.95 and a one year high of $131.39. The stock has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a current ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.47.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.02. Globe Life had a return on equity of 22.32% and a net margin of 18.53%. Equities research analysts expect that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This is an increase from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Globe Life’s payout ratio is 9.04%.

About Globe Life

Globe Life Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various life and supplemental health insurance products, and annuities to lower middle- and middle-income families in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Supplemental Health Insurance, Annuities, and Investments.