Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 27,590 Shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,749 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,590 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Globe Life worth $9,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GL. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Globe Life by 388.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Globe Life during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Globe Life in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in Globe Life in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Globe Life by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets began 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. Evercore ISI raised Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 boosted their target price on shares of Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Globe Life currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.60.

Insider Activity at Globe Life

In other news, CMO Jennifer Allison Haworth sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.91, for a total transaction of $1,016,190.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 13,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,522,591.35. This represents a 40.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 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 in the last 90 days. 1.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Globe Life Stock Down 1.3 %

GL opened at $129.65 on Friday. Globe Life Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.95 and a fifty-two week high of $131.98. The company has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.91.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last posted 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 net margin of 18.53% and a return on equity of 22.32%. On average, analysts anticipate that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This is an increase from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.04%.

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.