Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 5,961 Shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Gentex Co. (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 57,800 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 5,961 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Gentex were worth $1,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GNTX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gentex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in Gentex by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,419 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Gentex in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Gentex by 159.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of Gentex stock opened at $24.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.44. Gentex Co. has a 1 year low of $23.63 and a 1 year high of $36.75. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.10). Gentex had a net margin of 17.49% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gentex Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Gentex’s payout ratio is 27.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GNTX. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.50 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Gentex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Gentex from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Gentex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.81.

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.