Easterly Investment Partners LLC Makes New $933,000 Investment in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 40,025 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GNTX. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gentex in the 4th quarter worth $892,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 105,229 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,023,000 after acquiring an additional 11,176 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 452,800 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $13,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 268,366 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,710,000 after purchasing an additional 7,520 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 433,446 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $12,453,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GNTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Baird R W cut shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.28.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other Gentex news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 5,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,824.93. The trade was a 38.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,803,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,655. Gentex Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $34.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $22.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.68.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Gentex had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Gentex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.