Horizon Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC cut its Gentex position by 93.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 81,813 shares and ending with 5,665 shares valued at about $131,000.
• Gentex insiders also sold stock recently, including Director Richard O. Schaum and CEO Steven R. Downing; insiders sold a total of 62,948 shares worth about $1.55 million over the last three months.
• Gentex reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.48 versus $0.44 expected and revenue of $675.44 million, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with a consensus price target of $26.67.

Horizon Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 93.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,665 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 81,813 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Gentex were worth $131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 5.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 0.7% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,519 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 4.5% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,025 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 30,641 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 2.3% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 29,248 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $112,237.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 81,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,898,436.33. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven R. Downing sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $866,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 211,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,238,832.50. This trade represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 62,948 shares of company stock worth $1,554,550. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. UBS Group set a $26.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.67.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of GNTX opened at $23.39 on Monday. Gentex Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.48 and a 1 year high of $29.38. The company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.22 and a 200-day moving average of $23.18.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The company had revenue of $675.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Gentex's payout ratio is 26.97%.

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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