Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) Insider Ric Lewis Purchases 931 Shares

Key Points

• Insider buying: Ric Lewis bought 931 shares at GBX 253 on May 1, adding to prior purchases of 856 (Feb 2) and 851 (Mar 2), signalling repeated insider accumulation.
• Shares traded up 1.3% to GBX 254.90; the stock has a market cap of £14.31 billion, a PE of 26.17, and a 12‑month range of GBX 217.20–279.50 with 50/200‑day moving averages around GBX 255.54/253.97.
• Analysts are mixed: consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of GBX 261.67, while Berenberg reaffirmed a Buy and set a GBX 308 target; the company has also announced a share buyback program and is noted for a high (~8.8%) dividend yield.

Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN - Get Free Report) insider Ric Lewis bought 931 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 253 per share, for a total transaction of £2,355.43.

Ric Lewis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 2nd, Ric Lewis purchased 851 shares of Legal & General Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 267 per share, for a total transaction of £2,272.17.
• On Monday, February 2nd, Ric Lewis purchased 856 shares of Legal & General Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 265 per share, for a total transaction of £2,268.40.

Legal & General Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of LGEN stock traded up GBX 3.20 during trading on Friday, reaching GBX 254.90. 1,569,091,375 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,864,945. The stock has a market capitalization of £14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81. Legal & General Group Plc has a twelve month low of GBX 217.20 and a twelve month high of GBX 279.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is GBX 255.54 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 253.97.

Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The financial services provider reported GBX 831 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Legal & General Group had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 0.91%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Legal & General Group Plc will post 24.2376446 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Legal & General Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 11th 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 usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Legal & General Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Legal & General Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insider purchases by senior directors (Sir John Kingman, Mark Jordy, Ric Lewis, Laura Wade-Gery) — insider buying signals management confidence and often supports the share price; purchases were at ~GBX 253. Legal & General Discloses Routine Share Purchases by Non-Executive Directors
• Positive Sentiment: Berenberg reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a GBX 308 price target — analyst support and a materially higher target vs. current levels can attract buyers. Broker Views / Berenberg Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Media note highlighting Legal & General's strong dividend (reported ~8.8% yield in recent write-ups) — income-focused investors may be adding exposure given high yield vs. FTSE peers. Legal And General Share Price: The 8.8% Dividend That’s Quietly Beating the FTSE
• Positive Sentiment: Share buyback reporting / voting-rights update indicates active capital management — buybacks reduce float and are typically supportive for the share price. Legal & General Updates Share Capital and Voting Rights After Buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: TPFG acquired a 25% stake in Meridian HoldCo (parent of L&G Surveying Services) — strategic partner activity could create optionality but impact on group earnings is indirect. TPFG Takes Strategic Stake in Legal & General Surveying Services Parent
• Neutral Sentiment: Admission of new shares under the sharesave scheme was announced (137,479 shares admitted) — routine employee scheme issuance that slightly increases free float but is small in scale. Legal & General Adds Sharesave Scheme Stock to London Listing
• Negative Sentiment: Small dilution from admitted shares / share-capital movements — while minor, any increase in share count offsets some buyback support and can be seen as modestly negative by short-term traders. Legal & General Updates Share Capital and Voting Rights After Buyback

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 205 to GBX 220 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 243 to GBX 249 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Legal & General Group from GBX 249 to GBX 263 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 308 target price on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Legal & General Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of GBX 261.67.

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. The LGRI segment offers annuity contracts with guaranteed income for a specified time; and longevity insurance products. The LGIM segment offers index fund management; active fixed income funds and liquidity funds; active equity management; solution and liability driven investment; multi-asset funds; corporate pension scheme solutions; and real assets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.