Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,611 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,145 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Gentex were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 138.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Gentex in the 3rd quarter valued at $125,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley reissued 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. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price target on Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.81.

Gentex Stock Performance

GNTX stock opened at $21.80 on Thursday. Gentex Co. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $35.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.56.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Gentex’s payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

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.