Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Buys New Shares in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 550,000 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,802,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Gentex by 54.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,930 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 38,027 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Gentex during the third quarter worth $326,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gentex in the 3rd quarter valued at $373,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the 3rd quarter valued at $125,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 59,958 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of GNTX opened at $21.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.87. Gentex Co. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $35.33.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W cut shares of Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gentex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.31.

Gentex Company 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.