BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 2,349 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,579 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,349 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Gentex were worth $2,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 159.1% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 930 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 371.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 2,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Investment Managers International boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Investment Managers International now owns 3,395 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 4,716 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.46, for a total value of $162,513.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,707.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.40.

Gentex Stock Up 0.6 %

Gentex stock opened at $34.34 on Monday. Gentex Co. has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $37.58. The company has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.23 and its 200 day moving average is $34.46.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Gentex had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The firm had revenue of $590.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gentex Co. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Gentex Company Profile

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.