Allstate Corp Raises Position in Gen Digital Inc. $GEN

Allstate Corp raised its holdings in shares of Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) by 98.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,788 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,689 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Gen Digital were worth $1,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Gen Digital by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,310,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,993,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,313 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Gen Digital by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,558,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $867,565,000 after buying an additional 1,015,755 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,961,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,867,000 after purchasing an additional 487,393 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 16,301,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,788,000 after purchasing an additional 401,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Gen Digital by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,689,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,610,000 after purchasing an additional 565,836 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Gen Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Gen Digital from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Gen Digital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Gen Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

Gen Digital Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GEN opened at $25.79 on Friday. Gen Digital Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.78 and a 52-week high of $32.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.65. The stock has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Gen Digital had a return on equity of 55.47% and a net margin of 19.46%.The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Gen Digital’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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, research analysts expect that Gen Digital Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Gen Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued 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 yield of 1.9%. Gen Digital’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

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.