Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Sells 19,694 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC decreased its stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 45.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,082 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 19,694 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Gentex were worth $692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 138.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gentex during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Gentex in the third quarter worth about $125,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Gentex Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $24.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90. Gentex Co. has a twelve month low of $23.50 and a twelve month high of $36.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $25.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.16.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 17.49%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.27%.

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.