Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 27,753 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) by 111.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,745 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,753 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Gentex were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gentex in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Gentex by 2,299.0% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,399 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Gentex during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gentex by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Gentex Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:GNTX opened at $23.91 on Thursday. Gentex Corporation has a twelve month low of $20.48 and a twelve month high of $29.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.53.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $675.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.42 million. Gentex had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gentex Corporation will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. Gentex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

Insider Transactions at Gentex

In other news, Director Richard O. Schaum sold 4,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $112,237.65. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 81,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,898,436.33. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. sold 5,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total transaction of $136,478.22. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 16,693 shares of company stock worth $385,194 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gentex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Gentex from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Gentex in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gentex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Gentex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Gentex Company Profile

Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a global technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of automotive and aerospace products. The company’s primary business centers on automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and camera-based driver monitoring technologies. In the automotive sector, Gentex supplies exterior and interior mirrors with integrated electronics, connectivity features, and safety capabilities to many of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).