Globe Life (NYSE:GL) Price Target Cut to $117.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $126.00 to $117.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Globe Life from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Globe Life in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.55.

Globe Life Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GL opened at $118.39 on Thursday. Globe Life has a 12-month low of $38.95 and a 12-month high of $133.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 0.60. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $124.36 and a 200 day moving average of $115.14.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.32% and a net margin of 18.53%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Globe Life will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost 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 0.91%. Globe Life’s payout ratio is 9.04%.

Insider Activity at Globe Life

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Globe Life by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,117,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,661,000 after buying an additional 326,307 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Globe Life by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,932,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,568,000 after purchasing an additional 223,282 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Globe Life by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,618,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,994,000 after purchasing an additional 89,299 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,592,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,615,000 after buying an additional 118,054 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Globe Life by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,228,000 after buying an additional 36,051 shares in the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.