Ameriprise Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 27.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,208,258 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 468,242 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.53% of Gentex worth $34,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gentex by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 65,805 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,445 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 126,325 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 18,666 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GNTX. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Baird R W cut shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.31.

Gentex Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX traded up $0.40 on Friday, reaching $23.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,070,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,367. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.85. Gentex Co. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $35.32. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.15.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $576.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.68 million. Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

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.