Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 71,815 Shares of Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

Key Points

• Wedge Capital increased its Gen Digital holdings by 27.4% in the second quarter, adding 71,815 shares to own 334,073 shares valued at approximately $8.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.38% of the company.
• Gen Digital reported a quarterly earnings beat, with EPS of $0.71 versus the $0.69 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.34 billion, up 6.3% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, representing a 1.7% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Gen Digital has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $31.67 target price, while shares recently opened at $28.64 within a 12-month range of $17.78 to $32.22.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN - Free Report) by 27.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 334,073 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,815 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.06% of Gen Digital worth $8,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Gen Digital by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,703,712 shares of the company's stock worth $71,757,000 after purchasing an additional 28,522 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gen Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 37.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 7,562 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Gen Digital by 9.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,347 shares of the company's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 221.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus upgraded Gen Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gen Digital from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Gen Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned 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 Stock Performance

Shares of GEN opened at $28.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.21. Gen Digital Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.78 and a 12 month high of $32.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Research analysts forecast that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Gen Digital's payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Insider Activity at Gen Digital

In related news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.78, for a total transaction of $2,478,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,832,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,974,900.72. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company's stock, 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. 9.70% of the stock is owned by company 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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