Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires Shares of 1,324,155 Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,324,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,976,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.22% of Gen Digital at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Gen Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Gen Digital by 452.2% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Gen Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Gen Digital in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GEN. Argus upgraded Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gen Digital currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gen Digital news, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at $850,198.14. This trade represents a 10.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 152,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $4,418,382.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,532,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,454,216. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 430,260 shares of company stock valued at $11,967,726 over the last three months. 9.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gen Digital Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:GEN opened at $30.50 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.92 and its 200 day moving average is $23.76. The stock has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 1.21. Gen Digital Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.78 and a 52-week high of $30.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.93% and a net margin of 20.73%.The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Gen Digital’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. Sell-side analysts predict that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

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.