Hixon Zuercher LLC Takes $3.34 Million Position in Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

Hixon Zuercher LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 117,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,338,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GEN. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Gen Digital during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 221.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gen Digital by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GEN shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Gen Digital in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total value of $3,082,838.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,932,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,662,417.60. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.14 per share, with a total value of $135,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,419 shares in the company, valued at $771,291.66. This trade represents a 21.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Shares of GEN opened at $27.65 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.11. Gen Digital Inc. has a one year low of $22.74 and a one year high of $32.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 57.09% and a net margin of 12.74%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Gen Digital has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.510-2.56 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.620-0.64 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.35%.

About Gen Digital

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.