Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,679 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,960 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Globe Life worth $13,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Globe Life by 685.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,209 shares of the company's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Globe Life by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 22,009 shares of the company's stock worth $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Globe Life by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,048 shares of the company's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Globe Life by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Globe Life by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,800 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 6,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.51, for a total transaction of $737,387.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 31,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,834,317.98. This represents a 16.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Globe Life Price Performance

Shares of GL opened at $118.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $120.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.24. Globe Life Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.86 and a fifty-two week high of $133.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a current ratio of 0.07.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.17). Globe Life had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 18.33%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. Globe Life's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Globe Life's payout ratio is 8.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Globe Life from $139.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Globe Life from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Globe Life from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Globe Life from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Globe Life from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.55.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.