Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) Position Trimmed by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. reduced its holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 97.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,973 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 1,239,759 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Gentex were worth $605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gentex in the 1st quarter valued at about $303,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its position in Gentex by 49.9% during the first quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 490,384 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $11,445,000 after buying an additional 163,341 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Gentex by 0.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 523,489 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $12,197,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Gentex by 7.6% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 225,180 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $5,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,709 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gentex

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total value of $86,082.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,824.93. This trade represents a 38.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Gentex Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $23.13. 2,192,216 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,914,761. Gentex Corporation has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $35.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.72. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.81.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.68 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.01%. The business's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GNTX shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Baird R W downgraded Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.28.

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.