Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Sells 231,326 Shares of Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. reduced its Gen Digital stake by 95.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 231,326 shares and leaving it with 10,435 shares worth about $284,000.
• Gen Digital’s latest quarter beat expectations, reporting EPS of $0.67 versus $0.65 expected and revenue of $1.28 billion versus $1.25 billion, with revenue up 27% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock’s consensus rating is “Hold” with a target price of $31.29, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, implying a 1.9% yield.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) by 95.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,435 shares of the company's stock after selling 231,326 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Gen Digital by 38,275.3% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 194,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,078,000 after acquiring an additional 194,056 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Gen Digital by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,213,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,050,150,000 after acquiring an additional 964,046 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Gen Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,238,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Gen Digital by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,155,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,128,000 after acquiring an additional 102,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA lifted its position in Gen Digital by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 738,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,074,000 after acquiring an additional 287,369 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GEN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Gen Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Gen Digital from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus raised shares of Gen Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other news, Director John C. Chrystal acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 31,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $850,198.14. This trade represents a 10.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gen Digital Stock Down 1.6%

Gen Digital stock opened at $25.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average is $21.66 and its 200-day moving average is $23.63. Gen Digital Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.78 and a fifty-two week high of $32.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for 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%. Gen Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Gen Digital's payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Gen Digital Company 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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