Ariel Investments LLC Sells 28,010 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Ariel Investments LLC reduced its stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,394,726 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 28,010 shares during the period. Gentex comprises approximately 2.0% of Ariel Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Ariel Investments LLC owned 2.81% of Gentex worth $183,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $517,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,912 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Gentex by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,423,820 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $155,861,000 after acquiring an additional 55,816 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Gentex by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,415,871 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $155,598,000 after acquiring an additional 356,854 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 162.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $150,810,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248,434 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,495,516 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $129,156,000 after purchasing an additional 192,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of Gentex stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $21.62. 1,505,095 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,733,919. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. Gentex Co. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $35.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.53.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) 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. On average, analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Gentex's payout ratio is 28.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley restated 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. Baird R W lowered Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.