Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 10,860 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,323 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 10,860 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Gentex worth $3,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 838,907 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $23,993,000 after purchasing an additional 55,361 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Gentex by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 34,075 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 3,515 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Gentex by 331.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,572 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 3,512 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,300,000. Finally, Triodos Investment Management BV raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 801,000 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of Gentex stock opened at $23.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90. Gentex Co. has a 1 year low of $22.87 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.01 and its 200 day moving average is $27.97.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex’s payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 price target (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price objective on Gentex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.81.

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.