Swiss National Bank Grows Stake in Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,538,375 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.25% of Gen Digital worth $28,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 97.4% during the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 387,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,101,000 after purchasing an additional 191,207 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Gen Digital by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 69,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 14,971 shares during the last quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Gen Digital by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 22,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 5,558 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 145.1% in the first quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 41,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 24,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 16.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 35,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 5,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Gen Digital Stock Performance

Shares of GEN opened at $25.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.21. Gen Digital Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.78 and a 1 year high of $32.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Gen Digital had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 55.47%. The company’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gen Digital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gen Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Gen Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gen Digital has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $2,478,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,832,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,974,900.72. This trade represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of Gen Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.06 per share, for a total transaction of $81,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $850,198.14. This represents a 10.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.