Gentex Corporation $GNTX Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 3,905.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 700,693 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 683,201 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Gentex were worth $16,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Gentex by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,519 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Gentex by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,025 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Gentex by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 30,641 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Gentex by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 29,248 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Novem Group increased its position in shares of Gentex by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,683 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at $556,230.90. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Trading Up 1.5%

Gentex stock opened at $23.02 on Thursday. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.48 and a 12 month high of $29.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 14.75%.The business had revenue of $675.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GNTX. Freedom Capital raised Gentex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $26.00 price target on Gentex in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.83.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company’s primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).