Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 487,769 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 22,012 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Gentex worth $13,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,422,000. Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Gentex in the second quarter valued at approximately $534,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new stake in Gentex during the third quarter worth approximately $26,283,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 224,065 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,927,000 after buying an additional 60,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 329.8% in the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 87,438 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 67,094 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 target price on Gentex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Gentex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $26.00 price target on Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $25.00 price objective on Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.71.

Gentex Stock Up 1.8%

GNTX opened at $24.17 on Wednesday. Gentex Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $29.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.29. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.78.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 15.19%.The company had revenue of $644.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.90 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 7th. Gentex’s payout ratio is currently 27.59%.

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).