Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,279,935 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 284,616 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.41% of Gentex worth $149,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Gentex by 3.1% in the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 7,964,555 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $175,141,000 after purchasing an additional 236,346 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,439,333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $163,591,000 after purchasing an additional 74,779 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 7,359,272 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $161,830,000 after purchasing an additional 277,217 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,742,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $190,807,000 after purchasing an additional 131,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Gentex by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,725,426 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $190,330,000 after buying an additional 1,206,060 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on Gentex in a report on Monday, February 2nd. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on shares of Gentex from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.71.

Gentex Stock Performance

Shares of GNTX opened at $21.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.76. Gentex Corporation has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $29.38.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 15.19%.The business had revenue of $644.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is 27.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, CEO Steven R. Downing sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $866,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 211,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,238,832.50. This trade represents a 14.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 11,885 shares of Gentex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.98, for a total transaction of $296,887.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,484,561.40. The trade was a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,133 shares of company stock valued at $1,442,313. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Gentex

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).