The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 154,557 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,906,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in Gentex by 2,299.0% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,399 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares in the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners purchased a new position in Gentex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Gentex during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

Gentex stock opened at $22.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.44. Gentex Corporation has a twelve month low of $20.48 and a twelve month high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. Gentex had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $651.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Freedom Capital downgraded Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.80.

Gentex Company Profile

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).