Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 352,059 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 22,450 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.15% of Gentex worth $10,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 162.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $150,810,000 after buying an additional 3,248,434 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Gentex in the 4th quarter worth $51,959,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gentex during the 4th quarter worth $24,479,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Gentex by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,657,397 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $47,617,000 after purchasing an additional 664,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,815,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gentex Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of GNTX traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.17. 1,790,734 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,680,076. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.43. Gentex Co. has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $35.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GNTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Gentex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on Gentex in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.50 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.81.

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.