HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 406 Shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,009 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $2,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Globe Life by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Globe Life by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GL. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 increased 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $132.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Globe Life currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.60.

Globe Life Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE GL opened at $126.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $122.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.98. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.95 and a 52 week high of $131.39. The company has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.77.

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, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. 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%.

Insider Activity at Globe Life

In related news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was 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 owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,132,786.88. This trade represents a 41.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.23, for a total value of $339,690.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630. 1.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.