Level Four Advisory Services LLC Acquires Shares of 319,302 Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 319,302 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $10,428,000. Gentex makes up about 0.6% of Level Four Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Level Four Advisory Services LLC owned 0.14% of Gentex as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Gentex by 219.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 38,899 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 26,740 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Gentex by 36.2% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 116,186 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,781,000 after acquiring an additional 30,862 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Gentex by 20.9% in the third quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 92,446 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,008,000 after acquiring an additional 15,981 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Gentex by 4.2% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 424,407 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $13,810,000 after acquiring an additional 17,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Gentex by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 196,790 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $6,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GNTX. StockNews.com cut Gentex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Gentex from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Gentex from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. B. Riley raised their price target on Gentex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Gentex from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.83.

Gentex Stock Up 0.1 %

GNTX stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.65. 737,153 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,299,988. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.58. Gentex Co. has a 1-year low of $25.86 and a 1-year high of $37.58. The company has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.98.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Gentex had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 18.77%. The company had revenue of $590.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Gentex's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $446,040.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gentex 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.