Praxis Investment Management Inc. Invests $359,000 in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 15,410 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covea Finance raised its holdings in Gentex by 14.3% during the first quarter. Covea Finance now owns 80,000 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 607,253 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $14,149,000 after buying an additional 15,012 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 5.7% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,783 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 0.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 104,185 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,427,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gentex during the first quarter valued at about $455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total value of $86,082.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,939 shares in the company, valued at $135,824.93. This represents a 38.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $21.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,404,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,848,539. The company's 50 day moving average is $21.86 and its 200-day moving average is $24.45. Gentex Corporation has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $35.32. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43. The company had revenue of $576.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.68 million. Gentex had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Gentex's payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNTX has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Baird R W lowered shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Gentex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.31.

Gentex Company 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.