Legal & General cancels 15.97 million shares in buyback of Legal & General stock

Published on 10/08/2026 at 13:11 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Asset management profit rose to GBP 222.00 million from GBP 202.00 million. Legal & General stock costs EUR 3.41 on October 8, 2026, versus EUR 3.43.

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Legal & General Group (ISIN GB0005603997) had bought 15,965,850 shares, or 15.97 million, for cancellation under its buyback program by October 2, 2026. Investegate published the company announcement on October 5, 2026, which said the cancellation would leave 5,429,854,514 shares and voting rights.

Buyback reduces the share count

The purchases covered September 28 through October 2, 2026, with individual prices ranging from GBp 283.40 to GBp 300.10. The stated purpose is capital management, but the immediate mechanical effect is a lower share count, which can support per-share measures if operating profit remains stable.

Legal & General's half-year 2026 core operating profit was GBP 918.00 million, according to S&P Global Ratings on September 21, 2026. Pension risk transfer contributed GBP 646.00 million, while retail contributed GBP 248.00 million.

Operating profit shifts toward asset management

Asset management operating profit increased to GBP 222.00 million in the first half of 2026 from GBP 202.00 million in the first half of 2025. That GBP 20.00 million increase gives investors a concrete counterweight to the capital-return story because it points to improvement beyond the buyback itself.

The same S&P analysis reported a Solvency II coverage ratio of 201.00 percent at half-year 2026, down from 217.00 percent at half-year 2025. It also noted that most of the GBP 1.997 billion half-year 2026 profit before tax came from a GBP 1.4 billion disposal gain, so the headline profit figure includes a material one-off item.

Analyst target remains a counterpoint

MarketBeat reported that Berenberg raised its target from GBp 353.00 to GBp 385.00 in a report dated August 6, 2026. The same overview listed an average target of GBp 276.86 and a Reduce consensus, showing that the bullish Berenberg view is not shared across the full analyst group.

Euro quote moves below prior close

Legal & General was trading at EUR 3.41 at Lang & Schwarz on October 8, 2026 at 1:04 p.m. CEST, down 0.58 percent versus the EUR 3.43 prior close of October 7, 2026. On the LSE, the primary listing was last at GBp 285.70 on October 8, 2026 at 12:09 p.m. BST, with a 52-week range of GBp 217.20 to GBp 318.10.

The further course of trading is shown by the continuously updated real-time quote of Legal & General stock.