State of Michigan Retirement System Has $2.54 Million Stock Position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $2,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Globe Life by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,545,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,480,000 after buying an additional 115,432 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Globe Life by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,154,000 after buying an additional 8,663 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Globe Life in the 4th quarter valued at $487,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Globe Life by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 3,662 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Globe Life by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 245,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,046,000 after buying an additional 6,935 shares during the period. 81.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.52, for a total transaction of $3,024,632.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 38,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,735,998.96. This represents a 38.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 13,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.56, for a total value of $1,513,706.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at $2,132,786.88. The trade was a 41.51 % 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 worth $7,239,630 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Globe Life in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Globe Life presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.60.

Globe Life Stock Performance

GL stock opened at $125.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $119.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.77. Globe Life Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.95 and a 1-year high of $131.39.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Globe Life’s payout ratio is 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.