Merit Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 10,289 Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,212 shares of the company's stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 129.6% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 75,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 42,488 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 98.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 114,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 56,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in Gen Digital by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,568 shares of the company's stock worth $3,306,000 after purchasing an additional 6,995 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Gen Digital news, Director Nora Denzel sold 31,646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $910,138.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,002,573.60. This represents a 47.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 12.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Gen Digital Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ GEN traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,869,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,177,346. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Gen Digital Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.74 and a 1-year high of $31.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.01.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.01. Gen Digital had a net margin of 16.32% and a return on equity of 58.83%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $999.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Gen Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio is 48.08%.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital Inc engages in the provision of cyber safety solutions for consumers in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. The company offers security and performance products under Norton, Avast, Avira, AVG, and CCleaner brands that provide real-time protection and maintenance for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices against malware, viruses, adware, and other online threats.