Geode Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,683,226 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 33,124 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.60% of Gentex worth $132,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Gentex in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gentex by 82.3% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Gentex by 2,420.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $112,237.65. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 81,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,898,436.33. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock valued at $385,194. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $25.05 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.13. Gentex Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $29.38. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.79.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The business had revenue of $675.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex’s payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GNTX. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Gentex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $26.00 target price on shares of Gentex in a report on Sunday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.83.

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).