iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $1.33 Million Stock Holdings in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 312.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,892 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,012 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $1,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GL. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Globe Life during the fourth quarter worth about $61,238,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 115,432 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 bought a new position in shares of Globe Life during the fourth quarter worth about $487,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Globe Life by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 24,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 9,395 shares during the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Globe Life Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE GL opened at $126.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.77. Globe Life Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.95 and a 52 week high of $131.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 0.85%. Globe Life’s payout ratio is currently 9.04%.

Insider Activity at Globe Life

In related news, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.52, for a total transaction of $3,024,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,735,998.96. The trade was a 38.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,132,786.88. The trade was a 41.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Globe Life in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Globe Life currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.60.

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.