Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Stock Holdings in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 838,907 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,361 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.37% of Gentex worth $23,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Gentex by 138.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Gentex by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Gentex in the third quarter worth about $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of GNTX stock opened at $23.52 on Thursday. Gentex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 target price on Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 price target (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.81.

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.