Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Position Increased by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX – Get Rating) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 296,630 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,050 shares during the period. Gentex comprises approximately 1.2% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of Gentex worth $8,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Gentex by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,483,145 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $559,838,000 after purchasing an additional 93,928 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 0.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,990,163 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $612,282,000 after buying an additional 190,797 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in Gentex by 92.4% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,174,011 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $238,436,000 after buying an additional 3,925,355 shares during the period. Maj Invest Holding A S raised its position in Gentex by 16.6% during the third quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 7,284,357 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $212,486,000 after buying an additional 1,039,243 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Gentex by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,592,791 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $157,172,000 after acquiring an additional 238,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GNTX. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Gentex from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Gentex in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Gentex from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Neil Boehm sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.41, for a total transaction of $35,285.22. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 36,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,760.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CTO Neil Boehm sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.41, for a total transaction of $35,285.22. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 36,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,760.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven R. Downing sold 17,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.21, for a total transaction of $535,623.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 118,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,580,066.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,643 shares of company stock worth $1,050,188. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gentex Price Performance

GNTX traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.53. 2,558,229 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,169,614. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.92. Gentex Co. has a one year low of $23.28 and a one year high of $31.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.25.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.29%.

Gentex Company Profile

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Gentex Corp. is a technology company, which engages in the design, development, and manufacture and supply of digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection products. It operates through the Automotive Products and Other segments. The Automotive Products segment operates in virtually all the foregoing facilities.