Scharf Investments LLC Has $52.57 Million Stock Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Scharf Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,829,868 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 68,291 shares during the period. Gentex comprises approximately 1.6% of Scharf Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned approximately 0.80% of Gentex worth $52,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Gentex by 227.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,826 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Gentex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $125,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 159.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,664 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GNTX shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Gentex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.13.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of Gentex stock opened at $25.92 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.88. The firm has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.91. Gentex Co. has a 1 year low of $25.10 and a 1 year high of $37.58.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 18.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.67%.

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.