Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,590,815 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 194,058 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.93% of Cognex worth $57,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CGNX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth $79,797,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 122.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $114,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,115 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $209,427,000 after buying an additional 1,253,996 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Cognex by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,092,681 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $75,044,000 after purchasing an additional 576,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 642,737 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $26,031,000 after buying an additional 307,018 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Cognex Trading Down 2.4 %

CGNX traded down $0.73 on Friday, hitting $30.01. 1,198,501 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,253,209. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.50. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $29.58 and a one year high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share 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 analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Hsbc Global Res cut Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Cognex Profile

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.