First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,339,211 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 44,560 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.03% of Gentex worth $67,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 138.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Gentex during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Gentex in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $32.50 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Baird R W cut Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.31.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $21.75 on Wednesday. Gentex Co. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $35.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.02.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex's payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

About Gentex

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.

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