Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Shares Bought by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,351,550 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 992,898 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $91,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 221.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gen Digital Stock Down 3.4%

GEN stock opened at $24.97 on Wednesday. Gen Digital Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.78 and a 12 month high of $32.22. The firm has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’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. 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GEN. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Insider Activity at Gen Digital

In other news, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at $850,198.14. The trade was a 10.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

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.