Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Purchased by Values First Advisors Inc.

Values First Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,331 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Gentex accounts for approximately 1.3% of Values First Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gentex were worth $2,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 16,675 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 7,075 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Gentex by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 129,203 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after purchasing an additional 59,407 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Gentex by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 60,434 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Gentex by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 555,800 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $18,152,000 after purchasing an additional 85,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its holdings in Gentex by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 979,355 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,986,000 after purchasing an additional 94,794 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gentex

In other news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $446,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,365.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total value of $204,326.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,122,491.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $446,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,365.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of Gentex stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.12. 1,178,943 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,393,584. The stock has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.63. Gentex Co. has a 12-month low of $25.85 and a 12-month high of $37.58.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. Gentex had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $589.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Gentex from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.67.

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.