Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,435 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 521,566 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 11,435 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Gentex worth $14,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GNTX. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Gentex by 956.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,720 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 6,084 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 691,419 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $19,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $9,443,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GNTX remained flat at $24.32 on Friday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,523,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,422. Gentex Co. has a 1-year low of $24.07 and a 1-year high of $37.58. The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.90. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.91.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 target price on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.50 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim cut their target price on Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.31.

Gentex Company 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.