Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Acquires 1,128,930 Shares of Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. raised its holdings in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) by 3,146.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,164,810 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,128,930 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $25,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GEN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Gen Digital by 45.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,094,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115,676 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $225,169,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $146,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $108,421,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,004,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Gen Digital Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of GEN opened at $30.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. Gen Digital Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.78 and a fifty-two week high of $31.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.61.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 56.80%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.13%.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In related news, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total transaction of $892,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 466,545 shares in the company, valued at $13,879,713.75. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Bryan Seuk Ko sold 28,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.67, for a total value of $866,366.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 744,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,826,515.54. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 558,508 shares of company stock worth $16,365,993. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Gen Digital from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Argus increased their target price on Gen Digital from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Gen Digital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.20.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital Inc. is a global cybersecurity company that provides digital safety and identity protection services to consumers and small businesses. Its products include antivirus and malware protection, virtual private networks, password managers, scam protection, and identity monitoring and recovery services. The company offers services through brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, and CCleaner. Its products are available in markets around the world through direct subscriptions and other distribution channels.