Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 41.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,696 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,530 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Globe Life worth $7,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Globe Life by 3.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,545,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,480,000 after purchasing an additional 115,432 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Globe Life by 9.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,154,000 after acquiring an additional 8,663 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Globe Life in the fourth quarter valued at $487,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Globe Life during the 4th quarter worth $61,238,000. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Globe Life Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE GL opened at $124.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.81. Globe Life Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.95 and a 12 month high of $131.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Globe Life’s payout ratio is currently 9.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.56, for a total transaction of $1,513,706.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at $2,132,786.88. This represents a 41.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.52, for a total transaction of $3,024,632.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,735,998.96. This trade represents a 38.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630. Insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Globe Life Profile

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.