Quantbot Technologies LP Cuts Stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 73,468 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 8,743 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Gentex were worth $2,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the third quarter valued at $125,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $23.91 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $25.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.24. Gentex Co. has a 52 week low of $23.50 and a 52 week high of $36.46. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GNTX. UBS Group lowered their price target on Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.50 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 target price on Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 target price on Gentex in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.81.

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.