South Dakota Investment Council Increases Holdings in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,056 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 2,819 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.05% of Gentex worth $3,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Gentex by 179.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,000,796 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,519 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in Gentex by 249.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 617,657 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $18,338,000 after purchasing an additional 440,725 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Gentex in the 4th quarter worth about $11,815,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Gentex by 327.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 483,842 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,365,000 after purchasing an additional 370,746 shares during the period. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new stake in Gentex in the 4th quarter worth about $9,443,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Performance

NASDAQ GNTX opened at $24.37 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.05. Gentex Co. has a 52-week low of $24.20 and a 52-week high of $37.58. The company has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.91.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 target price on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Gentex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.31.

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.