Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Stock Position Boosted by Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,371,342 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 186,614 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned 1.04% of Gentex worth $68,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Gentex by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 41,447 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 2,835 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Gentex by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,608 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 128,273 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,685,000 after buying an additional 9,267 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Gentex by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,495,516 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $129,156,000 after buying an additional 192,375 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Gentex by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,339,211 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $67,206,000 after acquiring an additional 44,560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Gentex Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ GNTX traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.36. The company had a trading volume of 3,379,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,719,342. Gentex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $35.33. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.93.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GNTX. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. 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, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.