AIA Group Ltd Invests $1.79 Million in Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL)

AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Globe Life by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,881,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,183,175,000 after acquiring an additional 181,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Globe Life by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,308,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,973,186 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Globe Life by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,520,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,963,000 after acquiring an additional 57,587 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Globe Life by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,247,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,884,000 after acquiring an additional 168,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Globe Life by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,960,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,163,000 after acquiring an additional 84,122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Globe Life from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Globe Life from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Globe Life from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Globe Life from $146.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Globe Life from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.44.

Globe Life Price Performance

Globe Life stock opened at $65.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. Globe Life Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.95 and a 1 year high of $132.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.83.

Globe Life (NYSE:GL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Globe Life had a net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Globe Life Inc. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Globe Life Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This is a boost from Globe Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Globe Life’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

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.