Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $15.46 Million Stock Holdings in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,600 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.17% of Globe Life worth $15,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,117,122 shares of the company's stock worth $570,661,000 after acquiring an additional 326,307 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Globe Life by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,932,637 shares of the company's stock worth $438,568,000 after buying an additional 223,282 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Globe Life by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,322 shares of the company's stock worth $143,228,000 after buying an additional 36,051 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Globe Life by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,234,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,623,000 after buying an additional 95,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Globe Life during the 4th quarter worth $112,454,000. Institutional investors own 81.61% of the company's stock.

Globe Life Stock Performance

GL stock traded up $1.15 on Wednesday, reaching $122.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 432,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,023,233. Globe Life Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.50 and a 52 week high of $133.76. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $124.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.00. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.32% and a net margin of 18.53%. As a group, analysts predict that Globe Life Inc. will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Globe Life's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Globe Life's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GL shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Globe Life from $126.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Globe Life from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Globe Life from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Globe Life in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Globe Life currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.55.

Insider Transactions at Globe Life

In other news, CEO James Matthew Darden sold 24,890 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.52, for a total value of $3,024,632.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,973 shares in the company, valued at $4,735,998.96. This represents a 38.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank M. Svoboda sold 11,000 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,529.88. This represents a 36.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.51% of the company's stock.

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.