Swiss National Bank Trims Holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 440,700 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 12,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Gentex were worth $10,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Gentex by 1,471.0% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 85.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,222 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 208.2% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,124 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 268,600.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,687 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,686 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Performance

GNTX opened at $27.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.44. The company has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 0.82. Gentex Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $31.75.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $657.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.94 million. Gentex had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The company’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.63.

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.