London, June 29, 2026, 16:06 BST
- Shares of Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) slipped 0.73% to 284.80p by around 1600 BST, while the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) traded down 0.25%.
- The dividend yield showing was 7.65%. The £1.2 billion buyback is about 7.6% of the company’s £15.8 billion market cap.
- L&G and Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LON:LLOY) have now passed £1.5 billion in fund-finance participations, new data shows, adding to L&G’s private-markets push.
- L&G will report first-half results on Aug. 5. The next ex-dividend date is Aug. 20.
Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) traded lower Monday, but the bigger number for investors wasn’t the price drop. With its £1.2 billion buyback and the dividend yield listed on Google Finance, the implied cash-return yield is about 15%. The London Stock Exchange ran its usual 0800-1630 BST session.
L&G was trading at 284.80p, off 0.73%, on Google Finance at 1554 BST. Market cap sat at £15.80 billion and dividend yield at 7.65%. FTSE 100 slipped 0.25% to 10481.61. M&G plc (LON:MNG) and Aviva plc (LON:AV) were both down as well.
| Stock/index | Latest price/index | Move | Dividend yield | Market value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal & General (LON:LGEN) | 284.80p | down 0.73% | 7.65% | £15.80 bln |
| M&G (LON:MNG) | 333.00p | off 0.77% | 6.16% | £8.03 bln |
| Aviva (LON:AV) | 643.80p | slipped 0.49% | 6.10% | £19.33 bln |
| FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) | 10481.61 | fell 0.25% | — | — |
The spread is in focus as L&G seeks to get the market to value both its high cash-return profile and its push into asset management and private-market credit, which it argues will deliver steadier growth than its traditional, capital-heavy insurance business.
L&G’s buyback is already moving the per-share math. The company reported £395.2 million used on buybacks for the period through June 15-19, or 32.9% of the planned £1.2 billion. L&G bought 154.9 million shares, which is about 2.8% of the 5.55 billion shares outstanding listed on Google Finance.
| L&G buyback plan | Figure |
|---|---|
| Programme announced | £1.2 bln |
| Spent as of June 19 | £395.2 mln |
| Shares bought | 154.9 mln |
| Avg purchase price | £2.5744 |
| Percent of programme spent | 32.9% |
| Share buyback as percent of current shares | about 2.8% |
L&G shares are trading at 284.80p, putting them about 10.6% over the buyback’s average of £2.5744. That means each pound used for the buyback at Monday’s price picks up fewer shares than in the programme’s first stage.
Lloyds flagged another angle on the investment case in its latest business update. On June 26, the bank said its partnership with L&G had crossed £1.5 billion in participations since kicking off in December 2022. The joint model uses Lloyds’ loan origination with capital from L&G’s institutional book, backing L&G’s £2 billion short-term alternative finance strategy.
Matthew Taylor, who runs alternative debt at L&G Asset Management, said the Lloyds deal gives L&G’s clients “high-quality, short-duration assets.” Jill Wilson, managing director for financial sponsors at Lloyds, said the agreement supports “funding at scale.” Lloyds Banking Group
L&G’s move in fund-finance is small compared to its total balance sheet, but matters for the stock because it’s in the part of the business CEO António Simões wants to see rated higher by investors. Back in March, Reuters said Simões has been streamlining the 190-year-old group and putting more focus on capital-light asset management and retail. “In two years, we’ve reshaped the company,” Simões told Reuters after L&G posted a 6% rise in annual core profit and announced a £1.2 billion buyback. Reuters
The numbers help explain why the stock still trades like an income play. Core operating profit came in at £1.62 billion, missing the analyst consensus Reuters cited. The Solvency II coverage ratio also dropped, now at 210% versus 232% last time. Simões said L&G is “very comfortable” with where the ratio stands and plans to return £2.4 billion to shareholders this year. Reuters
UK stocks slipped in early trade Monday, with the FTSE 100 off 0.2% at 0949 GMT, Reuters said. Ongoing Middle East tensions hit risk sentiment. Financials offered some support and kept declines in check.
L&G will post its half-year numbers at 0700 BST on Aug. 5. The company’s next ex-dividend date comes on Aug. 20, with shareholders on record as of Aug. 21. The dividend is due to be paid Sept. 25.
