Cerity Partners LLC Buys 1,295 Shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,835 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $3,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Globe Life by 24.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Globe Life by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after buying an additional 2,252 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Globe Life by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,618,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,994,000 after acquiring an additional 89,299 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Globe Life during the 3rd quarter worth $351,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Globe Life by 34.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Globe Life Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of GL stock opened at $119.46 on Monday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $124.30 and a 200-day moving average of $115.26. Globe Life Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.66 and a 52-week high of $133.76. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Globe Life’s payout ratio is currently 9.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Globe Life

In other news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total transaction of $1,345,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,529.88. This trade represents a 36.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,973 shares in the company, valued at $4,735,998.96. The trade was a 38.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Globe Life from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Globe Life from $126.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Globe Life has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.55.

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.