26,570 Shares in Gentex Corporation $GNTX Purchased by Malaga Cove Capital LLC

Malaga Cove Capital LLC acquired a new position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 26,570 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Gentex by 70.9% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 179,338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,173,000 after acquiring an additional 74,380 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gentex by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex in the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex in the 4th quarter worth about $787,000. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in Gentex by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 63,393 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 2,832 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ GNTX opened at $23.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.78. Gentex Corporation has a 1-year low of $20.48 and a 1-year high of $29.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.43 and its 200 day moving average is $23.07.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $675.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.42 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 14.75%.Gentex’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GNTX. UBS Group set a $26.00 target price on Gentex in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Gentex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.83.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian C. Walker sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $136,478.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,230.90. This represents a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock valued at $385,194. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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).