Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 115,264 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Gentex Corporation by 2.6%, holding approximately 4.32 million shares valued at $100.74 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Gentex Corporation reported $0.47 EPS for its last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 14.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.7%, and a stock buyback program for up to 40 million shares.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,323,674 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 115,264 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 1.92% of Gentex worth $100,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1,471.0% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Gentex by 305.7% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,217 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Gentex by 85.4% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,222 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 208.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 103.3% in the 1st 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GNTX. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price target on Gentex in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.63.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ:GNTX traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,973,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,973,811. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.82. Gentex Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $31.72.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $657.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.94 million. Gentex had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Gentex has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 8th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Gentex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership 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.