Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Position Cut by Capital Fund Management S.A.

Capital Fund Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 40.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,159 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 51,334 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A.'s holdings in Gentex were worth $2,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Gentex by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 65,805 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,445 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 126,325 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,629,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Baird R W cut shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.06.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ:GNTX traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,276,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,591. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $23.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.19. Gentex Co. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $35.33. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.