Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Position Lessened by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,097 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,212 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Gentex were worth $348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 1.5% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 7,699,919 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $228,611,000 after buying an additional 111,500 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gentex by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,368,004 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $159,406,000 after purchasing an additional 285,802 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its position in Gentex by 5.5% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,493,914 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $133,424,000 after purchasing an additional 234,083 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Gentex by 179.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,000,796 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $59,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Gentex by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,554,823 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,163,000 after purchasing an additional 6,106 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Gentex stock opened at $24.77 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.18. Gentex Co. has a 1-year low of $24.35 and a 1-year high of $37.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.91.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on GNTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on 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 upped their target price on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 price objective (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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.06.

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.