Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Purchased by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 607,253 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,012 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.27% of Gentex worth $14,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Gentex by 138.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Gentex by 208.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Gentex by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,124 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Gentex by 268,600.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,687 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 2,686 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of GNTX stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $21.86. 1,404,928 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,848,539. Gentex Corporation has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $35.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $21.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.45.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.43. The company had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.68 million. Gentex had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 17.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 3,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.87, for a total transaction of $86,082.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,824.93. This represents a 38.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GNTX has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Baird R W downgraded Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.31.

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.