Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Bought by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 67.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,540 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 83,484 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned about 0.09% of Gentex worth $4,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Gentex by 1,471.0% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Gentex by 85.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,222 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Gentex by 138.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 208.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,124 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GNTX shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Baird R W lowered shares of Gentex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price target on shares of Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Gentex Price Performance

NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,803,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,518. Gentex Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $33.57. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $22.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.60. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Gentex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.07%.

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.