Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 280,836 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 3,535 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Gentex worth $8,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 113,131 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,256 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Gentex by 212.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,632 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Gentex by 2.1% in the third quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 24,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,356,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 157,214 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,300,000 after acquiring an additional 29,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

Gentex stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.00. 1,744,501 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,460,592. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. Gentex Co. has a 12-month low of $27.86 and a 12-month high of $37.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.91.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $572.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $623.28 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In other news, major shareholder Corp Gentex purchased 3,152,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 6,463,808 shares in the company, valued at $32,319,040. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GNTX. UBS Group began coverage on Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Gentex from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Gentex from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.29.

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.