First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 394,778 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 51.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,155,278 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 394,778 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.54% of Gentex worth $25,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gentex during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Gentex by 2,420.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners bought a new position in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Gentex by 2,299.0% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,399 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. Following the sale, the director owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at $556,230.90. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Up 4.9%

GNTX opened at $24.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.78. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.48 and a 12 month high of $29.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.51.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 15.50%.The firm had revenue of $651.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex's payout ratio is 25.40%.

Gentex Profile

Gentex Corporation NASDAQ: GNTX is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company's primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world's leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

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