M&T Bank Corp Acquires 2,257 Shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,769 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,257 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Globe Life were worth $2,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GL. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 388.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 244 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Globe Life during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Globe Life during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Globe Life during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Globe Life

In other news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 5,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $579,964.06. This trade represents a 36.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 18,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,529.88. This represents a 36.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,338 shares of company stock valued at $7,239,630. 1.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Globe Life in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Globe Life from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Globe Life from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.60.

Globe Life Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE GL opened at $125.55 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.47. Globe Life Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.95 and a 12 month high of $131.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.02. Globe Life had a return on equity of 22.32% and a net margin of 18.53%. On average, analysts predict that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.04%.

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.