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

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN - Get Free Report) insider António Simões sold 197,279 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 Performance

Shares of LON LGEN traded down GBX 0.10 ($0.00) during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching GBX 243.20 ($3.15). 1,061,389,875 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,908,496. Legal & General Group Plc has a 1 year low of GBX 211.40 ($2.74) and a 1 year high of GBX 266.20 ($3.45). The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 240.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 230.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.18. The stock has a market cap of £14.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.90, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.31.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported GBX 2.89 ($0.04) EPS 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 forecast that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Legal & General Group Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LGEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Legal & General Group from GBX 290 ($3.75) to GBX 295 ($3.82) and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "top pick" rating on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 265 ($3.43) target price on shares of Legal & General Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Legal & General Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 267 ($3.46).

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.