Plato Investment Management Ltd Invests $84,000 in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 388.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Globe Life during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Globe Life during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Globe Life by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Globe Life during the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of the firm’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 owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,132,786.88. This trade represents a 41.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $113.23, for a total transaction of $339,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,964.06. The trade was a 36.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630 in the last 90 days. 1.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Globe Life Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:GL opened at $126.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57 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. Globe Life Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.95 and a fifty-two week high of $131.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.99.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.02. Globe Life had a net margin of 18.53% and a return on equity of 22.32%. Analysts predict that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 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.