MQS Management LLC Takes $253,000 Position in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital during the first quarter worth about $52,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 26.6% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,730 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Gen Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $154,000. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Gen Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nora Denzel sold 31,646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $910,138.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,860 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,573.60. This represents a 47.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gen Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gen Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.60.

Gen Digital Price Performance

GEN traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.05. 1,704,231 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,747,145. Gen Digital Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.74 and a 1 year high of $31.72. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day moving average price is $29.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $999.48 million. Gen Digital had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 59.38%. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.08%.

Gen Digital Profile

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.