Synergy Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,143 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Gentex by 179.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,000,796 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,404,000 after buying an additional 1,285,519 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gentex by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,368,004 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $159,406,000 after purchasing an additional 285,802 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,930 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 38,027 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Gentex by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,124,403 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,304,000 after buying an additional 20,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Gentex by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 392,445 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $11,651,000 after purchasing an additional 36,134 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gentex Stock Down 8.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $25.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.88. Gentex Co. has a 12 month low of $25.10 and a 12 month high of $37.58.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 18.37% and a return on equity of 18.25%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. Gentex’s payout ratio is 25.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GNTX. Bank of America lowered their target price on Gentex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Gentex from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gentex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.13.

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.