Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Invests $5.74 Million in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 160,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $5,742,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.09% of Cognex at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group raised its stake in Cognex by 1,686.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.95. The stock had a trading volume of 7,225,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,637. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The stock's 50 day moving average is $31.55 and its 200 day moving average is $36.43. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26 and a beta of 1.56.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.