Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX – Get Rating) by 0.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 202,618 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Gentex comprises 1.5% of Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gentex were worth $4,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNTX. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 45,689 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in Gentex by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 86,682 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after purchasing an additional 8,265 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,990,163 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $612,282,000 after purchasing an additional 190,797 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in Gentex by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 137,269 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,117,000 after purchasing an additional 12,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Gentex by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,688 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on GNTX shares. TheStreet raised Gentex from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Gentex from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Gentex to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gentex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.80.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.31. 409,767 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,291,776. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.24. The stock has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.92. Gentex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.28 and a fifty-two week high of $32.07.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 5th. Gentex’s payout ratio is 35.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin C. Nash sold 6,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total transaction of $199,349.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,803.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Gentex

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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. The firm operates through Automotive Products and Other segments. The Automotive Products segment operates in virtually all the foregoing facilities.