Edmund Francis Murphy Sells 40,000 Shares of Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Stock

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO) Director Edmund Francis Murphy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$86.20, for a total value of C$3,448,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$757,180.80. The trade was a 81.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock.

Great-West Lifeco Stock Performance

Shares of GWO traded up C$2.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching C$88.55. 571,072 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,761,355. The stock has a market capitalization of C$79.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 22.18, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.59. Great-West Lifeco Inc. has a 12-month low of C$49.78 and a 12-month high of C$88.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$75.67 and a 200-day moving average price of C$68.57.

Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.37 earnings per share for the quarter. Great-West Lifeco had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The firm had revenue of C$8.37 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Great-West Lifeco Inc. will post 4.4525194 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great-West Lifeco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 2nd. Great-West Lifeco’s dividend payout ratio is 53.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$71.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Scotia upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$78.00 to C$83.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$65.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$70.00 to C$76.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD upped their price target on shares of Great-West Lifeco from C$73.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$77.18.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

Great-West Lifeco is one of the three big Canadian life insurance firms. With just under half of the firm’s profit and revenue in Canada, Great-West also operates in the U.S. and Europe. In Canada, Great-West provides both individual and group insurance. In the United States, Great-West operates Putnam Investments and defined-contribution recordkeeping firm Empower Retirement. In 2020, Great-West announced it would acquire Personal Capital and MassMutual’s recordkeeping business. In Europe, Great-West offers life insurance, annuities, and reinsurance primarily in the U.K., Ireland, and Germany.