Edgestream Partners L.P. Buys 167,736 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 523.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,771 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 167,736 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned about 0.09% of Gentex worth $4,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 377,484 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $8,784,000 after purchasing an additional 137,245 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Gentex by 2,636.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 799,243 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $18,598,000 after purchasing an additional 770,035 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 3,905.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 700,693 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $16,305,000 after buying an additional 683,201 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 25,026.7% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 188,450 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,118,000 after buying an additional 187,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Gentex by 61.4% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 647,425 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $14,146,000 after buying an additional 246,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at $556,230.90. This represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Freedom Capital cut Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of GNTX stock opened at $23.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.54 and a 200-day moving average of $23.50. Gentex Corporation has a one year low of $20.48 and a one year high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $651.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.65 million. Gentex had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Gentex’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gentex Corporation will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

About Gentex

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).