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 Legal & General Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 244 ($3.14), for a total transaction of £481,360.76 ($619,751.20).

Legal & General Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Legal & General Group stock opened at GBX 244.50 ($3.15) on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of GBX 240.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 230.37. The stock 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. 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 Plc has a 12-month low of GBX 211.40 ($2.72) and a 12-month high of GBX 266.20 ($3.43).

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

Legal & General Group Increases Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “top pick” rating on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Friday, December 6th. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 265 ($3.41) price target on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Legal & General Group from GBX 290 ($3.73) to GBX 295 ($3.80) and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Legal & General Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 267 ($3.44).

Legal & General Group Company Profile

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.