Scharf Investments LLC Has $24.26 Million Stock Position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Scharf Investments LLC cut its position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 43.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,041,148 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 788,720 shares during the quarter. Gentex comprises 0.7% of Scharf Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Gentex worth $24,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GNTX. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Gentex by 956.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,720 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 6,084 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gentex by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 12,994 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council raised its position in shares of Gentex by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 124,056 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,564,000 after buying an additional 2,819 shares in the last quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gentex by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,743 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,630,000 after buying an additional 22,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter worth about $670,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $21.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,404,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,848,539. The business's 50-day moving average is $21.87 and its 200 day moving average is $24.38. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. Gentex Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $35.32.

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

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total transaction of $86,082.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,824.93. The trade was a 38.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GNTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on 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 downgraded Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.