Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 31.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,433 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 25,783 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gentex were worth $1,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gentex by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 55,672 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Gentex by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 29,807 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Gentex by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,025 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Gentex by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 30,641 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $112,237.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 81,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,898,436.33. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,230.90. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock valued at $385,194. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Gentex Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX opened at $24.91 on Friday. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.48 and a 12 month high of $29.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.51. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The business had revenue of $675.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Gentex 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).