Analysts Set Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) PT at $44.83

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.83.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

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

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the third quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 123.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in Cognex by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 130,895 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $5,301,000 after buying an additional 18,404 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,385,464 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $56,111,000 after acquiring an additional 17,701 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Cognex by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 30,918 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 15,090 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Down 2.4 %

CGNX traded down $0.73 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,198,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,253,209. Cognex has a 1-year low of $29.59 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.51.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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