Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Cuts Stock Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 378,854 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 11,148 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Gentex were worth $12,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Gentex by 123.6% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Gentex by 371.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,157 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Gentex by 283.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,066 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $119,000. Finally, Lavaca Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ GNTX traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $34.35. The company had a trading volume of 66,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,401,473. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.02. Gentex Co. has a 12-month low of $25.85 and a 12-month high of $37.58.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $589.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.42 million. Gentex had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. Gentex’s payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $446,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,365.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total value of $204,326.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,122,491.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $446,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,365.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNTX has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.83.

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.