Gentex Corporation $GNTX Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its Gentex stake by 63.9% in the first quarter, selling 144,965 shares and retaining 82,023 shares valued at approximately $1.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.76% of the stock.
• Gentex reported quarterly EPS of $0.58, beating estimates by $0.08, while revenue of $651.3 million fell short of expectations and declined 1% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12, equivalent to a 2% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with one Buy rating and seven Holds; the consensus rating is Hold with a $26.80 price target, compared with the stock’s recent price of $23.68.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its holdings in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 63.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,023 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 144,965 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in Gentex were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GNTX. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its position in Gentex by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 377,484 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $8,784,000 after acquiring an additional 137,245 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 2,636.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 799,243 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $18,598,000 after purchasing an additional 770,035 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 25,026.7% during the first 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. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings 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. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 246,235 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Stock Performance

Gentex stock opened at $23.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.79. Gentex Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.48 and a 1 year high of $29.38. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $24.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.50.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $651.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.65 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 15.50%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GNTX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gentex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Gentex from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Gentex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.80.

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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