António Simões Sells 197,279 Shares of Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) Stock

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) insider António Simões sold 197,279 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 244 ($3.16), for a total transaction of £481,360.76 ($623,201.40).

Legal & General Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of LON:LGEN opened at GBX 243.20 ($3.15) on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of £14.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.18, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 240.54 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 230.22. Legal & General Group Plc has a 52-week low of GBX 211.40 ($2.74) and a 52-week high of GBX 266.20 ($3.45).

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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a return on equity of 7.79% and a net margin of 0.67%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Legal & General Group Increases Dividend

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

Legal & General Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “top pick” rating on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Friday, December 6th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 265 ($3.43) price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 290 ($3.75) to GBX 295 ($3.82) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 267 ($3.46).

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.