Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 215,131 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its position in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,194,000 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 215,131 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Gentex were worth $34,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Gentex by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,415,871 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $155,598,000 after purchasing an additional 356,854 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 463,159 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $13,307,000 after buying an additional 15,689 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Gentex by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 189,254 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 45,475 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 198.3% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 24,054 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 15,990 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,862,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $23.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.06. Gentex Co. has a 52-week low of $23.27 and a 52-week high of $36.46.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GNTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 target price (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced 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. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.81.

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.