Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 88,651 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,895,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex in the third quarter valued at approximately $618,000. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Gentex by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 129,203 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after purchasing an additional 59,407 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in Gentex by 112.3% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 24,876 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 13,161 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Gentex by 130.7% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 123,805 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,029,000 after purchasing an additional 70,138 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Gentex by 1.9% in the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,951,077 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $63,488,000 after purchasing an additional 36,461 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gentex

In other Gentex news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total value of $204,326.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,555 shares in the company, valued at $2,122,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $446,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,321 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,365.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total transaction of $204,326.46. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,122,491.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on GNTX shares. StockNews.com raised Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.83.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $33.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.96. Gentex Co. has a 12 month low of $25.85 and a 12 month high of $37.58.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. Gentex had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 18.63%. The firm had revenue of $589.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Gentex’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

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.