Invesco Ltd. Grows Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,153,176 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 73,553 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.67% of Cognex worth $41,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% during the fourth 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 129.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $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.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,805,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,483. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.62 and a beta of 1.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $29.53 and its 200 day moving average is $35.66.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given 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 1.32%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other 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 directly owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CGNX. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective 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. 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 decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.