Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,750 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 729 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp owned 0.09% of Gentex worth $6,622,000 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 the stock. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Gentex by 1.7% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 20,068 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Gentex by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 50,311 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp raised its position in Gentex by 2.3% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 17,940 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Gentex by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 10,317 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in Gentex by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 43,615 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $34.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 31,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,395,560. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.05. Gentex Co. has a 52 week low of $25.85 and a 52 week high of $37.58. The company has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $589.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.42 million. Gentex had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on GNTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gentex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gentex news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $446,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,365.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 6,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 62,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,122,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,365.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.