Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Holdings in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 12.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,509,752 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 217,800 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Gentex were worth $32,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Gentex by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,828,120 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $419,636,000 after buying an additional 1,383,203 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 14,398.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,726,057 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $179,785,000 after acquiring an additional 7,672,769 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,463,299 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $163,067,000 after acquiring an additional 833,919 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Gentex by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,439,333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $163,591,000 after acquiring an additional 74,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Gentex by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,912,491 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $167,299,000 after acquiring an additional 123,731 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gentex

In other Gentex news, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,230.90. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gentex Trading Up 4.9%

Gentex stock opened at $24.05 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.51. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.48 and a 12 month high of $29.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 15.50%.The firm had revenue of $651.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Gentex Company Profile

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company’s primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).