Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Purchases 46,017 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 347,178 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,017 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Gentex were worth $7,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gentex by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 55,672 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 29,807 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $286,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $713,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,230.90. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock valued at $385,194 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of GNTX stock opened at $23.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.44 and a 200-day moving average of $23.52. Gentex Corporation has a 12-month low of $20.48 and a 12-month high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $649.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Gentex’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GNTX. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Gentex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

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).