Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 61,749 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 36.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,388 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 61,749 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Gentex were worth $5,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 14,398.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,726,057 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $179,785,000 after acquiring an additional 7,672,769 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its position in shares of Gentex by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 3,144,881 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $73,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,668 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Gentex in the 4th quarter worth about $52,767,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Gentex by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,828,120 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $419,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Gentex by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,629,380 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $154,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,445 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $23.36 on Friday. Gentex Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.48 and a 1 year high of $29.38. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.50.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 15.50%.The company had revenue of $651.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.65 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Gentex’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gentex Corporation will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,230.90. The trade was a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Gentex Company 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).