Prospector Partners LLC Buys 480 Shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Prospector Partners LLC raised its position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213,438 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 480 shares during the quarter. Globe Life makes up approximately 2.6% of Prospector Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Prospector Partners LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Globe Life worth $23,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Globe Life during the fourth quarter worth $61,238,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Globe Life by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,545,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,480,000 after acquiring an additional 115,432 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,154,000 after purchasing an additional 8,663 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Globe Life in the 4th quarter worth about $487,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Globe Life by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 82,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,069,000 after purchasing an additional 27,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GL shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Globe Life in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Globe Life from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Globe Life has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.45.

Globe Life Stock Down 8.0 %

GL opened at $117.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.60. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $124.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.76. Globe Life Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.95 and a twelve month high of $133.76.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.92%. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.04%.

Insider Transactions at Globe Life

In related news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.23, for a total transaction of $339,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $579,964.06. This trade represents a 36.94 % 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 13,448 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.56, for a total value of $1,513,706.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,132,786.88. This represents a 41.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,338 shares of company stock worth $7,239,630. 1.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.