Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 623,131 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,724,935 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 623,131 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Gentex worth $614,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC increased its position in Gentex by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Gentex by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,519 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,025 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gentex by 0.4% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 139,315 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,064,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 30.5% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,684 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In related news, CTO Neil Boehm sold 11,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $279,175.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 58,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,463,163.82. This represents a 16.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 11,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.98, for a total transaction of $296,887.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,484,561.40. The trade was a 16.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,133 shares of company stock worth $1,442,313. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GNTX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on shares of Gentex from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.71.

Gentex Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX opened at $23.79 on Wednesday. Gentex Corporation has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $29.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.91 and a 200 day moving average of $25.12.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $644.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. Gentex had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The company’s revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 8th. Gentex’s payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

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).