Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 533,001 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 236,864 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Gentex worth $15,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GNTX. Scharf Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 36,001.4% in the second quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,278,357 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $76,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272,046 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,963,250 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $107,033,000 after acquiring an additional 727,913 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,989,248 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $134,475,000 after acquiring an additional 489,689 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 344.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 589,916 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $19,886,000 after purchasing an additional 457,054 shares during the period. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gentex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,470,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Corp Gentex acquired 3,152,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $15,762,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 6,463,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,319,040. This represents a 95.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Price Performance

Gentex stock opened at $30.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.91. Gentex Co. has a one year low of $28.30 and a one year high of $37.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.84.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GNTX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. B. Riley cut their price target on Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Gentex from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Gentex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

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.