Man Group plc Takes Position in Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

Key Points

• Man Group initiated a position in Gen Digital during the second quarter, purchasing 226,487 shares valued at approximately $5.64 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 81.38% of the company.
• Gen Digital exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.71 earnings per share versus the $0.69 consensus and revenue of $1.34 billion, up 6.3% year over year. Shares recently opened at $31.02, near their 52-week high of $31.29.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.50 payout and a 1.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $31.67.

Man Group plc bought a new stake in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 226,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,637,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Gen Digital by 3.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,558,806 shares of the company's stock worth $867,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,755 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Gen Digital by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,473,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,869 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Gen Digital by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,941,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640,451 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Gen Digital by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,644,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Gen Digital by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,592,196 shares of the company's stock worth $422,461,000 after buying an additional 129,413 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gen Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GEN opened at $31.02 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.81. Gen Digital Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.78 and a 1-year high of $31.29. The firm has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Gen Digital has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.710-0.730 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Gen Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

Insider Activity at Gen Digital

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,332,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,987,120. The trade was a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $850,198.14. This represents a 10.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 630,260 shares of company stock valued at $17,967,726. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GEN. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Argus raised Gen Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Gen Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.67.

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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