Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.83.

Several brokerages recently commented on CGNX. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 14th. HSBC cut Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX traded down $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.72. 1,232,441 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,403,498. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $32.03 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.25 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.55.

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

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Cognex's payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 3.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 50.0% during 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 increased its holdings in Cognex by 30.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 320 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.