Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stake Lifted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,461 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,454 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.05% of Cognex worth $3,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Cognex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.77. 4,864,589 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,448. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.97 and a beta of 1.56. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $30.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.01. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. On average, analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm'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 approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the subject of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.83.

Cognex Company 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.