SG Americas Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 19,553 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,445 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gentex by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,641 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 126,325 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. grew its stake in Gentex by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 18,666 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 101,711 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Down 0.8%

GNTX stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.62. The stock had a trading volume of 2,060,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,847,518. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.81. Gentex Corporation has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $35.32. The company's 50 day moving average is $21.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.45.

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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.31.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total value of $86,082.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,824.93. This represents a 38.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

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.