Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Sells 397,266 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 64.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 222,494 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 397,266 shares during the period. Gentex makes up about 0.6% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Gentex worth $5,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its position in Gentex by 5.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,519 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Gentex by 4.5% during 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 grew its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GNTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group set a $26.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Freedom Capital raised Gentex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $112,237.65. Following the transaction, the director owned 81,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,898,436.33. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven R. Downing sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $866,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 211,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,238,832.50. The trade was a 14.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 62,948 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,550 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gentex Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $22.93 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.22. Gentex Corporation has a 12-month low of $20.48 and a 12-month high of $29.38. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $675.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.42 million. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.1%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Gentex Profile

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).