549,121 Shares in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 549,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,238,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.65% of Globe Life as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in Globe Life by 155.6% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,138,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,629,000 after buying an additional 693,346 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Globe Life during the fourth quarter valued at $52,414,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Globe Life by 11,153.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 445,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,635,000 after buying an additional 441,121 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Globe Life by 22.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,519,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,949,000 after buying an additional 277,108 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in Globe Life by 78.5% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 290,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,768,000 after buying an additional 127,764 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.23, for a total transaction of $339,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $579,964.06. This represents a 36.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.56, for a total transaction of $1,513,706.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,132,786.88. The trade was a 41.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630. 1.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Globe Life in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.60.

Globe Life Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GL opened at $122.51 on Tuesday. Globe Life Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.95 and a fifty-two week high of $131.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a current ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.77.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts expect that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Globe Life’s payout ratio 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.