Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Holdings Lowered by Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Beutel Goodman cut its Gen Digital stake by 99.8% in the third quarter, selling 5.74 million shares and retaining 9,655 shares worth about $212,000.
• Gen Digital beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $0.74 and revenue of $1.37 billion; revenue rose 12.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, equivalent to a 1.7% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Hold,” with an average price target of $30.25.

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. reduced its position in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) by 99.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,655 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,735,759 shares during the quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.'s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Gen Digital during the second quarter worth about $225,169,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $146,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $108,421,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 45.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,094,386 shares of the company's stock worth $246,567,000 after buying an additional 4,115,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,004,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gen Digital Trading Up 0.7%

GEN opened at $30.01 on Wednesday. Gen Digital Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.78 and a 52 week high of $31.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.54. The firm has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 56.80% and a net margin of 23.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. Gen Digital's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GEN. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Gen Digital from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Insider Transactions at Gen Digital

In related news, COO Bryan Seuk Ko sold 28,248 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.67, for a total value of $866,366.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 744,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,826,515.54. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Travis Witteveen sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total value of $892,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 466,545 shares in the company, valued at $13,879,713.75. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 558,508 shares of company stock valued at $16,365,993. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Gen Digital

Gen Digital Inc. is a global cybersecurity company that provides digital safety and identity protection services to consumers and small businesses. Its products include antivirus and malware protection, virtual private networks, password managers, scam protection, and identity monitoring and recovery services. The company offers services through brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, and CCleaner. Its products are available in markets around the world through direct subscriptions and other distribution channels.

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