Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) Shares Purchased by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 249.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 617,657 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 440,725 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Gentex were worth $18,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GNTX. Scharf Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Gentex by 36,001.4% in the 2nd quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,278,357 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $76,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272,046 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 14.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,989,248 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $134,475,000 after buying an additional 489,689 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Gentex by 344.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 589,916 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $19,886,000 after buying an additional 457,054 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Gentex by 327.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 483,842 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,365,000 after acquiring an additional 370,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Gentex during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,470,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Gentex in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Gentex from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Gentex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.13.

Gentex Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of GNTX opened at $30.57 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.55. Gentex Co. has a 12-month low of $28.30 and a 12-month high of $37.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.91.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Gentex’s payout ratio is 25.67%.

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.