Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Shares Sold by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) by 7.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,438 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $5,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the second quarter worth about $225,169,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Gen Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $146,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Gen Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $108,421,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,115,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,941,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640,451 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gen Digital Price Performance

Shares of GEN opened at $31.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Gen Digital Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.78 and a 1-year high of $31.29. The stock has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.84.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.93% and a net margin of 20.73%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Gen Digital has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.710-0.730 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on GEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gen Digital currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,332,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,987,120. This represents a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Chrystal bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $850,198.14. The trade was a 10.56% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 630,260 shares of company stock valued at $17,967,726. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.