LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Reduces Stock Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC cut its holdings in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,268 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 5,472 shares during the quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Gentex were worth $6,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GNTX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gentex by 99,783.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,630,950 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $235,366,000 after purchasing an additional 8,622,309 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Gentex by 92.4% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,174,011 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $238,436,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925,355 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Gentex by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,823,022 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $222,021,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,502 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Gentex by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,801,402 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $103,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,990,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total transaction of $204,326.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,122,491.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $446,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,365.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 62,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,122,491.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ:GNTX traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.19. 353,612 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,440,817. Gentex Co. has a twelve month low of $25.85 and a twelve month high of $37.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GNTX. StockNews.com upgraded Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. B. Riley lifted their target price on Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Gentex from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.67.

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.