Gen Digital Inc. $GEN Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,020,760 shares of the company’s stock after selling 434,169 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $218,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEN. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gen Digital during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gen Digital by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Gen Digital by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Gen Digital by 221.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Gen Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Gen Digital Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of GEN stock opened at $24.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 1.21. Gen Digital Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.78 and a twelve month high of $32.22.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped 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 research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gen Digital

In other news, Director John C. Chrystal purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $81,180.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,419 shares in the company, valued at $850,198.14. The trade was a 10.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

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.