Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Sells 10,925 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 304,699 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 10,925 shares during the quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Gentex were worth $8,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 worth $59,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,519 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Gentex by 16.1% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 386,461 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Gentex by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 189,254 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 45,475 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $24,479,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $10,868,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Performance

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $21.79 on Tuesday. Gentex Co. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $35.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43. Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 price objective (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.31.

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.