Edmund Francis Murphy Sells 94,532 Shares of Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 94,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$64.51, for a total transaction of C$6,098,259.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$317,131.16. The trade was a 95.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of TSE:GWO traded down C$0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$66.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,579,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,510,406. The stock has a market cap of C$60.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.69. Great-West Lifeco Inc. has a 1-year low of C$44.89 and a 1-year high of C$68.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is C$62.15 and its 200 day moving average price is C$56.30.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported C$1.33 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$8.21 billion for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 16.06%. On average, research analysts expect that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Great-West Lifeco’s payout ratio is currently 55.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Great-West Lifeco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$66.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$55.00 to C$60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$62.11.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

Great-West Lifeco is one of the three big Canadian life insurance firms. With just under half of the firm’s profit and revenue in Canada, Great-West also operates in the U.S. and Europe. In Canada, Great-West provides both individual and group insurance. In the United States, Great-West operates Putnam Investments and defined-contribution recordkeeping firm Empower Retirement. In 2020, Great-West announced it would acquire Personal Capital and MassMutual’s recordkeeping business. In Europe, Great-West offers life insurance, annuities, and reinsurance primarily in the U.K., Ireland, and Germany.