Gentex Corporation $GNTX Stock Position Lifted by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Hillsdale Investment Management sharply increased its Gentex stake in the first quarter, buying 187,700 shares and lifting its position by 25,026.7% to 188,450 shares worth about $4.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed, with analysts assigning Gentex an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00. Recent ratings ranged from Strong Buy to Neutral, with several firms nudging price targets higher or lower.
• Gentex reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $0.48 EPS on $675.44 million in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, implying a 2.0% annualized yield.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 25,026.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 188,450 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 187,700 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Gentex worth $4,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,828,120 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $419,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,203 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 14,398.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,726,057 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $179,785,000 after acquiring an additional 7,672,769 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,439,333 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $163,591,000 after acquiring an additional 74,779 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Gentex by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,629,380 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $154,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in Gentex by 2.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,912,491 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $167,299,000 after purchasing an additional 123,731 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.00.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $24.27 on Thursday. Gentex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $20.48 and a fifty-two week high of $29.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $675.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.42 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 14.75%.The firm's revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gentex

In other Gentex news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,230.90. This represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Gentex Profile

Gentex Corporation NASDAQ: GNTX is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company's primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world's leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

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