Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,454,929 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 294,497 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $240,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,213,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,150,000 after purchasing an additional 964,046 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Gen Digital by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,543,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,566,000 after purchasing an additional 349,289 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Gen Digital by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,473,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,869 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 16,301,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,788,000 after acquiring an additional 401,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gen Digital by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,253,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,507,000 after purchasing an additional 101,791 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Gen Digital in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.71.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Gen Digital stock opened at $21.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.39. Gen Digital Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.93 and a 52-week high of $32.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 56.76%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Gen Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.640-0.660 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.540-2.560 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is 51.55%.

About Gen Digital

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.