Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 425,993 Shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,255,091 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 425,993 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.97% of Globe Life worth $1,309,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in shares of Globe Life by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,357,839 shares of the company's stock worth $286,996,000 after acquiring an additional 45,227 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Globe Life by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,200,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,109,000 after buying an additional 29,560 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Globe Life during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,682,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Globe Life by 10,526.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 998,717 shares of the company's stock worth $116,061,000 after buying an additional 989,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in Globe Life by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 850,530 shares of the company's stock worth $98,976,000 after acquiring an additional 122,255 shares during the period. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GL. StockNews.com downgraded Globe Life from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 20th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Globe Life in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Globe Life from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Globe Life from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Globe Life from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Globe Life news, Director David A. Rodriguez bought 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $79.72 per share, for a total transaction of $119,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $334,186.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO James Matthew Darden bought 2,000 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $84.82 per share, for a total transaction of $169,640.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,220,869.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Rodriguez bought 1,500 shares of Globe Life stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $79.72 per share, with a total value of $119,580.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,192 shares in the company, valued at $334,186.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,500 shares of company stock worth $536,860. Insiders own 1.51% of the company's stock.

Globe Life Stock Performance

Shares of GL stock traded up $0.55 on Tuesday, reaching $89.53. The stock had a trading volume of 578,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,964,025. Globe Life Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.95 and a 1 year high of $132.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a current ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 0.81.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.79 by ($0.01). Globe Life had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Globe Life Inc. will post 11.75 EPS for the current year.

Globe Life Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Globe Life's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.17%.

Globe Life Company 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.