Gentex Corporation $GNTX Shares Acquired by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management significantly increased its stake in Gentex Corporation by 142.3%, owning over 4.5 million shares valued at approximately $107 million.
• Gentex recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.47 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of nearly $658 million, a 14.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share and has initiated a share buyback program for up to 40 million shares, indicating confidence in its current valuation.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 142.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,589,585 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,695,117 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 2.04% of Gentex worth $106,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,581,938 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $526,159,000 after buying an additional 886,785 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Gentex by 40.1% during the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 7,728,209 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $180,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,392 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 46.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,673,701 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $178,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424,471 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in Gentex by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 7,082,055 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $165,012,000 after acquiring an additional 687,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Gentex by 3.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,655,948 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $108,482,000 after purchasing an additional 160,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX traded up $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.06. 2,985,074 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,266,488. Gentex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $31.72. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.89.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.08. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 16.82%.The firm had revenue of $657.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $591.94 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Gentex has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 8th. Gentex's payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GNTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 target price on Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. B. Riley raised their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.63.

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.