John Chrystal Buys 3,000 Shares of Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Stock

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) Director John Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at $850,198.14. This trade represents a 10.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Gen Digital stock opened at $26.28 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.52 and a 200-day moving average of $23.65. Gen Digital Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.78 and a 1-year high of $32.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The company has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 1.21.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Gen Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.850-2.950 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Gen Digital by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,703,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,757,000 after acquiring an additional 28,522 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gen Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Gen Digital by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 7,562 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Gen Digital by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Gen Digital by 221.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gen Digital has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global cybersecurity company specializing in consumer- and small-business-focused security, privacy, and identity protection solutions. The company offers a suite of products designed to safeguard devices, networks, and personal information against malware, ransomware, phishing attacks and other digital threats. With a focus on user-friendly interfaces and cross-platform compatibility, Gen Digital develops antivirus software, VPN services, parental controls, password management tools, and comprehensive identity-theft monitoring services.

Gen Digital traces its origins to the consumer software division of Symantec Corporation, which was spun off in late 2019 under the NortonLifeLock name.