247,925 Shares of Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Acquired by Howard Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management acquired 247,925 shares of Gen Digital worth approximately $5.46 million, while institutional investors collectively own 81.38% of the company.
• Gen Digital reported quarterly earnings of $0.71 per share and revenue of $1.34 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 6.3% year over year.
• The stock traded at $24.16, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $30.25. Gen Digital also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.125, representing a 2.1% yield.

Howard Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 247,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,459,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 452.2% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,132 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Gen Digital in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Gen Digital in the second quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Gen Digital stock traded down $0.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.16. 7,995,593 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,758,016. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. Gen Digital Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.78 and a 12 month high of $31.65. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.19 and its 200 day moving average is $24.91. The stock has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.26.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.1250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gen Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Gen Digital from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $882,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 496,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,608,353.90. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Seuk Ko sold 28,248 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.67, for a total transaction of $866,366.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 744,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,826,515.54. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 558,508 shares of company stock valued at $16,356,093 over the last 90 days. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital Inc is a global cybersecurity and digital safety company that provides products and services designed to help consumers protect their devices, online privacy, personal information and digital identities. Its offerings include antivirus and malware protection, online privacy tools, identity theft protection, password management, scam and fraud protection, and utilities that support device performance and security.

The company markets its products under a portfolio of well-known brands, including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender and CCleaner.

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