Marshall Wace LLP Makes New $10.87 Million Investment in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 378,272 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $10,868,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.17% of Gentex at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GNTX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Gentex by 6.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,038,912 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,423,820 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $155,861,000 after buying an additional 55,816 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,415,871 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $155,598,000 after acquiring an additional 356,854 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 162.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $150,810,000 after acquiring an additional 3,248,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Gentex by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,787,311 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $80,079,000 after purchasing an additional 386,461 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GNTX. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.50 price objective (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Baird R W cut shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim lowered 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Eight investment 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.31.

Gentex Price Performance

GNTX traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.36. 3,379,495 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,718,100. The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.85. Gentex Co. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $35.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43. The business had revenue of $576.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.68 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Gentex's payout ratio is currently 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.