ING Groep NV Reduces Position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

ING Groep NV decreased its stake in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,794 shares of the company’s stock after selling 733 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in Globe Life by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Globe Life by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Globe Life by 4.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its position in shares of Globe Life by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Globe Life by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Globe Life news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at $2,132,786.88. The trade was a 41.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,735,998.96. This represents a 38.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,678 shares of company stock worth $8,799,822 over the last quarter. 1.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GL. Evercore ISI raised Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Globe Life in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Globe Life has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.50.

Globe Life Price Performance

Shares of Globe Life stock opened at $122.66 on Tuesday. Globe Life Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.95 and a twelve month high of $129.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.57.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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.