Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Has $16.50 Million Stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 489,362 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the quarter. Gentex accounts for approximately 0.9% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.21% of Gentex worth $16,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

Gentex stock opened at $29.82 on Friday. Gentex Co. has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $37.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.40.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.15). Gentex had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $572.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.28 million. Research analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 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 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on GNTX. StockNews.com downgraded Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Gentex from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Gentex from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Gentex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.86.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other news, major shareholder Corp Gentex acquired 3,152,500 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 6,463,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,319,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.