USS Investment Management Ltd Raises Position in Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

USS Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,407 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,937 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $2,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gen Digital by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,310,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,993,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,313 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Gen Digital by 3.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,558,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $867,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,755 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Gen Digital by 2.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,961,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,867,000 after acquiring an additional 487,393 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,941,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640,451 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,644,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954,712 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Shares of GEN opened at $26.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.36. Gen Digital Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.78 and a 52-week high of $32.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released 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. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. 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. Analysts forecast that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GEN. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Argus raised shares of Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In related news, Director John C. Chrystal acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $850,198.14. The trade was a 10.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.78, for a total transaction of $2,478,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,832,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,974,900.72. The trade was a 2.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 9.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.