Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 59,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,649,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Globe Life by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Globe Life by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in Globe Life by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Globe Life by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Globe Life Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GL opened at $121.92 on Thursday. Globe Life Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.95 and a 1 year high of $129.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $117.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.88. The company has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 36.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 14,340 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.80, for a total value of $1,560,192.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 16,396 shares in the company, valued at $1,783,884.80. This trade represents a 46.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,678 shares of company stock worth $8,799,822. 1.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.50.

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.