Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in Gen Digital by 98.1% in the first quarter, selling 145,236 shares and leaving just 2,865 shares valued at about $54,000.
• Insider activity was mixed: Director John C. Chrystal bought 3,000 shares, while Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares. Insiders still own 9.30% of the company.
• Gen Digital reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $0.67 and revenue of $1.28 billion, both ahead of estimates. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, or a 1.9% annual yield.

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) by 98.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,865 shares of the company's stock after selling 145,236 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Gen Digital were worth $54,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Gen Digital by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Gen Digital by 20.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 26,906 shares of the company's stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,735 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Gen Digital Stock Up 3.1%

GEN opened at $25.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 1.21. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $25.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.23. Gen Digital Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.78 and a 52 week high of $32.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Gen Digital's payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GEN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Gen Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Argus raised shares of Gen Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gen Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gen Digital has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.33.

Gen Digital 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.