First National Bank of Hutchinson Raises Stock Position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,909 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Globe Life makes up about 1.0% of First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $1,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GL. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Globe Life in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Globe Life in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Globe Life in the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Globe Life during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Globe Life news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total value of $1,345,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,529.88. This represents a 36.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.52, for a total transaction of $3,024,632.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 38,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,735,998.96. This trade represents a 38.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,338 shares of company stock worth $7,239,630 in the last quarter. 1.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Globe Life in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Globe Life has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.60.

Globe Life Stock Performance

Shares of GL stock opened at $127.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $121.96 and a 200 day moving average of $112.66. Globe Life Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.95 and a 52 week high of $131.39. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.12 by $0.02. Globe Life had a net margin of 18.53% and a return on equity of 22.32%. As a group, research analysts expect that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders 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 is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio is 9.04%.

Globe Life 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.