Gentex Corporation $GNTX Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its Gentex stake by 21.6% in the first quarter, selling 57,640 shares and retaining 209,239 shares valued at approximately $4.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.76% of the company.
• Gentex exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.58 in EPS versus the $0.50 consensus, although revenue fell 1% year over year to $651.3 million and missed estimates.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% annualized yield. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and a $27 price target, compared with the stock’s recent price of $23.36.

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,239 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 57,640 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.10% of Gentex worth $4,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 377,484 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $8,784,000 after acquiring an additional 137,245 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Gentex by 2,636.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 799,243 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $18,598,000 after purchasing an additional 770,035 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Gentex by 3,905.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 700,693 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $16,305,000 after purchasing an additional 683,201 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Gentex by 25,026.7% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 188,450 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $4,118,000 after purchasing an additional 187,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Gentex by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 647,425 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $14,146,000 after purchasing an additional 246,235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX opened at $23.36 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $24.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.49. Gentex Corporation has a 52-week low of $20.48 and a 52-week high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $651.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Gentex's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gentex Corporation will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other Gentex news, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of Gentex 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GNTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Gentex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gentex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.00.

About Gentex

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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