Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 21,802 Shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,081 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,802 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Gentex were worth $2,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex during the first quarter worth about $456,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Gentex by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gentex by 50.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 3,098 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.4% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 389,796 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $9,082,000 after buying an additional 5,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 103.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,124 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In other Gentex news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total value of $86,082.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,939 shares in the company, valued at $135,824.93. This represents a 38.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on GNTX shares. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Baird R W cut Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Eight equities 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.31.

Gentex Stock Performance

GNTX stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.27. 1,326,801 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,842,831. Gentex Corporation has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $35.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.68.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43. The company had revenue of $576.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.68 million. Gentex had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Gentex Company 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.