Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Buys 137,245 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its Gentex stake by 57.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 137,245 additional shares to bring its total to 377,484 shares worth about $8.8 million.
• Gentex has seen mixed analyst sentiment: several firms raised targets or upgraded the stock, but the overall consensus remains Hold with an average price target of $26.83.
• The company posted a strong quarterly report, with EPS of $0.48 and revenue of $675.44 million, both ahead of expectations; Gentex also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share.

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 57.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 377,484 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 137,245 shares during the quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC owned about 0.17% of Gentex worth $8,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 0.7% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,519 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 4.5% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,025 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 30,641 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group raised its stake in Gentex by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,683 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.83.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In related news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $112,237.65. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 81,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,898,436.33. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Gentex Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $24.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.79. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.48 and a 12 month high of $29.38. The firm's 50-day moving average is $22.67 and its 200 day moving average is $23.09.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $675.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.42 million. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The firm's revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

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

Gentex Company 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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