Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Grows Stake in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,948 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 10,837 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Gentex were worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Gentex by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,023,056 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $517,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,912 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gentex by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,423,820 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $155,861,000 after purchasing an additional 55,816 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Gentex by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,415,871 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $155,598,000 after purchasing an additional 356,854 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Gentex by 162.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,249,230 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $150,810,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Gentex by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,495,516 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $129,156,000 after purchasing an additional 192,375 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gentex Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $22.21 on Friday. Gentex Co. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $35.33. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.71 and its 200 day moving average is $26.36.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43. Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $576.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GNTX shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Gentex in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Baird R W cut Gentex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Gentex from $29.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Gentex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.31.

Gentex Profile

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.