Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 20,344 shares of Gentex Corporation, totaling approximately $474,000 in value, demonstrating increased institutional interest in the auto parts company.
• Gentex reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.47, surpassing expectations and marking a 14.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $657.86 million.
• The company has initiated a share buyback program authorizing the purchase of up to 40 million shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock may be undervalued.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 20,344 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GNTX. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Gentex by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 189,254 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 45,475 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Gentex by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 34,075 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,515 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,423,820 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $155,861,000 after acquiring an additional 55,816 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $644,000. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. lifted its position in Gentex by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 18,666 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Gentex Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of GNTX stock traded down $0.14 on Wednesday, hitting $26.61. 2,987,031 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,974,004. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.82. Gentex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $31.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.03 and a 200 day moving average of $23.46.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $591.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 16th that allows the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 target price on Gentex in a report on Friday, July 11th. Baird R W cut Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.63.

Gentex Profile

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.