First Trust Advisors LP Raises Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,339,211 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,560 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.03% of Gentex worth $67,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Gentex by 54.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,930 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,205,000 after buying an additional 38,027 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex in the third quarter valued at about $326,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex in the third quarter valued at about $373,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Gentex during the third quarter worth about $125,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Gentex by 1.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 59,958 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Performance

Gentex stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $21.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 598,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,863. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $23.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.85. Gentex Co. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $35.33. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43. The company had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.68 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $32.50 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.31.

Gentex 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.