Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Has $11.49 Million Stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 492,911 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,752 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Gentex worth $11,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Gentex by 162.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $150,810,000 after buying an additional 3,248,434 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,959,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Gentex by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $517,802,000 after buying an additional 1,038,912 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter worth $24,479,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,657,397 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $47,617,000 after buying an additional 664,389 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total transaction of $86,082.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,824.93. This represents a 38.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX traded down $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $23.13. 2,192,216 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,919,119. The company's 50 day moving average price is $22.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.72. Gentex Corporation has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $35.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.81.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43. The business had revenue of $576.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.68 million. Gentex had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is 28.07%.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supplies digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection products in the United States, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, and internationally. It operates through Automotive Products and Other segments. The company offers automotive products, including interior and exterior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, automotive electronics, and non-automatic-dimming rearview mirrors for automotive passenger cars, light trucks, pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans for original equipment manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and various aftermarket and accessory customers.