Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 40.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,857 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitchell Capital Management Co. boosted its holdings in Globe Life by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 88,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,888,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Globe Life by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 11,153.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 445,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,635,000 after purchasing an additional 441,121 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Globe Life by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Globe Life during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,649,000. 81.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 raised their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Globe Life in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Globe Life news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.23, for a total transaction of $339,690.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $579,964.06. This trade represents a 36.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at $2,132,786.88. This trade represents a 41.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630. Insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Globe Life Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GL opened at $124.18 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.81. Globe Life Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.95 and a 1-year high of $131.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $118.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.89.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts expect that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.