Scharf Investments LLC Purchases 2,272,046 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Scharf Investments LLC increased its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 36,001.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,278,357 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,272,046 shares during the quarter. Gentex makes up 2.2% of Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned about 0.99% of Gentex worth $76,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Gentex by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,523 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 4,221 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Gentex by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 29,654 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Gentex by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,466 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Gentex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Trading Down 0.4 %

Gentex stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $30.44. 1,596,888 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,415,478. Gentex Co. has a twelve month low of $27.86 and a twelve month high of $37.58. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.13.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $572.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.28 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. On average, analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Gentex from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Gentex from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas cut shares of Gentex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 4th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Gentex from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.33.

About Gentex

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.