Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Shares Purchased by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its Gen Digital stake by 24% in the fourth quarter, buying 300,000 additional shares and ending with 1.55 million shares valued at about $42.1 million.
• Gen Digital’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.67 versus $0.65 expected and revenue of $1.28 billion versus $1.25 billion expected. Revenue rose 27% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $31.29, even as some firms recently upgraded or raised targets.

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,550,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.26% of Gen Digital worth $42,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Gen Digital by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,310,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,993,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,313 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,558,806 shares of the company's stock worth $867,565,000 after buying an additional 1,015,755 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,961,310 shares of the company's stock worth $651,867,000 after buying an additional 487,393 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,941,546 shares of the company's stock worth $542,211,000 after buying an additional 3,640,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,644,289 shares of the company's stock worth $425,336,000 after buying an additional 1,954,712 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gen Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Gen Digital from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded Gen Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Gen Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gen Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.29.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Gen Digital stock opened at $24.41 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $22.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 1.20. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $17.78 and a one year high of $32.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.47% and a net margin of 19.46%.The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Gen Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts expect that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.78, for a total value of $2,478,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,832,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,974,900.72. The trade was a 2.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $850,198.14. The trade was a 10.56% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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