Bridgewater Associates LP Cuts Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 67.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 204,131 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 413,526 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Gentex were worth $5,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Gentex by 179.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,000,796 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $59,404,000 after buying an additional 1,285,519 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Gentex by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,787,311 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $80,079,000 after purchasing an additional 386,461 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Gentex by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 189,254 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 45,475 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,479,000. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,743 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after purchasing an additional 22,180 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Performance

GNTX stock opened at $21.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $23.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.19. Gentex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $35.33.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share 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 firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th 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 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s payout ratio is 27.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.06.

About Gentex

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.