Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 403 Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GL. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake 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 valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in Globe Life by 4.0% during 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its stake in shares of Globe Life by 2.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Globe Life Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GL opened at $126.94 on Wednesday. Globe Life Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.95 and a fifty-two week high of $131.39. The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.56.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last released 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%. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders 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. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.04%.

Insider Transactions at Globe Life

In other Globe Life news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total value of $1,345,410.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,529.88. This trade represents a 36.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.52, for a total value of $3,024,632.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,973 shares in the company, valued at $4,735,998.96. This trade represents a 38.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,338 shares of company stock worth $7,239,630. 1.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.