Edmund Francis Murphy Sells 15,000 Shares of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Stock

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$52.31, for a total value of C$784,695.00.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Up 1.7 %

TSE:GWO opened at C$52.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$48.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 37.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.61. Great-West Lifeco Inc. has a twelve month low of C$38.44 and a twelve month high of C$52.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$47.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$46.24.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GWO shares. TD Securities upgraded Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$49.00 to C$53.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$59.00 to C$60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$45.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$49.00 to C$53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Great-West Lifeco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Great-West Lifeco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$52.22.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

Great-West Lifeco Inc engages in the life and health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management, and reinsurance businesses in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company offers life, accidental death and dismemberment, disability, critical illness, health and dental protection, and creditor insurance products; and retirement and wealth savings, income and annuity products, and other specialty products to individuals, families, businesses, and organizations.