1,176,561 Shares in Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Purchased by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in Gen Digital, buying 1,176,561 shares worth about $32.0 million in the fourth quarter and owning roughly 0.19% of the company.
• Gen Digital continues to attract institutional interest, with hedge funds and asset managers holding more than 81% of the stock; notable moves included big stake increases from Arrowstreet Capital, Qube Research & Technologies, and Vanguard.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts currently have a Hold consensus price target of $31.29; Gen Digital also pays a quarterly dividend yielding about 2.0%.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,176,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,991,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.19% of Gen Digital as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GEN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,600,836 shares of the company's stock worth $187,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103,335 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,473,917 shares of the company's stock worth $660,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,869 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 72.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,786,250 shares of the company's stock worth $79,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,048 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,310,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,993,302,000 after buying an additional 1,096,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,220,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other news, Director John C. Chrystal acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $850,198.14. This represents a 10.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GEN shares. Argus raised Gen Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Gen Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gen Digital has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.29.

Gen Digital Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:GEN opened at $24.97 on Wednesday. Gen Digital Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.78 and a 52-week high of $32.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.79 and a 200 day moving average of $23.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

Gen Digital 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.

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