Norges Bank Takes $52.77 Million Position in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Gentex, buying 2.27 million shares worth about $52.8 million and representing roughly 1.04% of the company.
• Gentex continues to attract institutional interest, with several other funds increasing their stakes and 86.76% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share to be paid on July 22.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,267,606 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $52,767,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.04% of Gentex as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 4.5% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,025 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 30,641 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,683 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 7.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,357 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GNTX shares. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $26.00 target price on Gentex in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gentex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total value of $112,237.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 81,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,898,436.33. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of GNTX stock opened at $24.63 on Monday. Gentex Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.48 and a 1 year high of $29.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $22.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.15. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.79.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 14.75%.The business had revenue of $675.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.97%.

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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