Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Stock Price Down 6% – Here’s Why

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) traded down 6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $27.64 and last traded at $27.3990. 1,866,670 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,566,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GEN. Barclays lifted their target price 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 lowered Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gen Digital currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.60.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The company has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.64.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.93% and a net margin of 20.73%.The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts predict that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Insider Activity at Gen Digital

In other Gen Digital news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,332,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,987,120. This trade represents a 5.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Bryan Seuk Ko sold 28,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.67, for a total transaction of $866,366.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 744,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,826,515.54. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 558,508 shares of company stock valued at $16,356,093. Corporate insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gen Digital

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Gen Digital by 452.2% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Gen Digital in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 86.9% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Gen Digital during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital Inc (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global cybersecurity and consumer safety company that provides products designed to help individuals and families protect their devices, online identities, personal information and digital privacy. The company serves customers through a portfolio of consumer-focused cybersecurity and privacy brands.

Its products and services include antivirus and device security, identity theft protection, virtual private networks, password management, online privacy tools, scam protection and family safety features.