Barclays PLC Buys 71,729 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,659 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,729 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.08% of Gentex worth $5,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex in the third quarter worth $326,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gentex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $373,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Gentex during the third quarter valued at about $125,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 59,958 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Gentex by 119.8% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 47,136 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 25,693 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,940,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,086. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $23.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.77. Gentex Co. has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $35.33. The stock has a market cap 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.43. Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $576.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 2.20%. Gentex's payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GNTX. Baird R W downgraded shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim dropped 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. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.50 price target (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.31.

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.