Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) Insider Sells £481,360.76 in Stock

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) insider António Simões sold 197,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 244 ($3.14), for a total value of £481,360.76 ($619,751.20).

Legal & General Group Stock Performance

Shares of LGEN opened at GBX 244.50 ($3.15) on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 240.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 230.37. The firm has a market cap of £14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.31. Legal & General Group Plc has a 12-month low of GBX 211.40 ($2.72) and a 12-month high of GBX 266.20 ($3.43). The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.18.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported GBX 2.89 ($0.04) EPS for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 7.79%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 EPS for the current year.

Legal & General Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Legal & General Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of GBX 15.36 ($0.20) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This is an increase from Legal & General Group’s previous dividend of $6.00. This represents a yield of 6.18%. Legal & General Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 387.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LGEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 290 ($3.73) to GBX 295 ($3.80) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 265 ($3.41) price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “top pick” rating on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 267 ($3.44).

About Legal & General Group

Legal & General Group Plc provides various insurance products and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates in Legal & General Retirement Institutional (LGRI), Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), Legal & General Capital (LGC), and Retail segments.