Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 473,386 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 31,150 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.21% of Gentex worth $13,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Gentex by 162.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $150,810,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248,434 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gentex in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,959,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Gentex by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $517,802,000 after buying an additional 1,038,912 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Gentex during the fourth quarter worth about $24,479,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Gentex by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,657,397 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $47,617,000 after buying an additional 664,389 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of GNTX stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $21.16. The stock had a trading volume of 83,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,690,476. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.11. Gentex Co. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $35.33.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gentex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.06.

About Gentex

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.