Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 770,035 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 2,636.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 799,243 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 770,035 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gentex were worth $18,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 2,420.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners bought a new stake in Gentex in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Gentex during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $25.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.79. Gentex Corporation has a 1-year low of $20.48 and a 1-year high of $29.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.70 and its 200-day moving average is $23.35.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 14.75%.The business had revenue of $675.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Gentex’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GNTX. UBS Group set a $26.00 price target on Gentex in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Freedom Capital upgraded Gentex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Gentex in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.83.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $112,237.65. Following the sale, the director directly owned 81,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,898,436.33. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,693 shares of company stock valued at $385,194. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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).