Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Holdings in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its Gentex stake in Q4, boosting holdings by 3,905.8% to 700,693 shares worth about $16.3 million. Institutional ownership of Gentex remains high at 86.76%.
• Gentex reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $0.48 versus the $0.44 estimate and revenue of $675.44 million versus $649.42 million expected. Revenue rose 17.1% year over year.
• Despite the strong results, analyst sentiment remains cautious with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.83. Insider selling also continued, including recent sales by two directors.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 3,905.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 700,693 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 683,201 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.32% of Gentex worth $16,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,828,120 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $419,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,203 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,439,333 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $163,591,000 after purchasing an additional 74,779 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 2.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,742,293 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $190,807,000 after purchasing an additional 131,035 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 21.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,725,426 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $190,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,060 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 2.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,912,491 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $167,299,000 after purchasing an additional 123,731 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total value of $112,237.65. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Up 1.5%

Gentex stock opened at $23.02 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.78. Gentex Corporation has a twelve month low of $20.48 and a twelve month high of $29.38.

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

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 8th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $26.00 price target on Gentex in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Gentex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gentex in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.83.

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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