Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Increases Stock Position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL - Free Report) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,600 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.17% of Globe Life worth $15,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,117,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $570,661,000 after purchasing an additional 326,307 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Globe Life by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,932,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,568,000 after buying an additional 223,282 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,322 shares of the company's stock worth $143,228,000 after buying an additional 36,051 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,234,069 shares of the company's stock worth $137,623,000 after buying an additional 95,091 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Globe Life in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,454,000. Institutional investors own 81.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Globe Life

In related news, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,735,998.96. The trade was a 38.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,317,529.88. This represents a 36.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.51% of the company's stock.

Globe Life Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of GL traded down $0.96 on Friday, reaching $122.96. The stock had a trading volume of 353,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 984,626. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.27. Globe Life Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.50 and a 12-month high of $133.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a current ratio of 0.05.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Globe Life Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Globe Life's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on GL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Globe Life from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Globe Life from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $126.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Globe Life from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.55.

Globe Life Company 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.