Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 259,109 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,222,359 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 259,109 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 1.39% of Gentex worth $108,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 26.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $29.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.92. Gentex Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $37.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.33.

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

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gentex

In related news, major shareholder Corp Gentex acquired 3,152,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 6,463,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,319,040. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Gentex from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley reduced their price target on Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BNP Paribas cut Gentex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Gentex from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.86.

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.