Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,003 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 37,118 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Gentex worth $7,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Gentex by 162.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,810,000 after acquiring an additional 3,248,434 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,959,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Gentex by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $517,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,912 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,479,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Gentex by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,657,397 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $47,617,000 after purchasing an additional 664,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GNTX shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price objective on Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 target price on shares of Gentex in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.81.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $23.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90. Gentex Co. has a 12 month low of $22.87 and a 12 month high of $36.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.92 and a 200-day moving average of $27.93.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.27%.

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.