Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,386,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 77,146 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.81% of Cognex worth $56,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,304 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $8,879,000 after acquiring an additional 9,748 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in Cognex by 45.9% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 105,768 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,487,000 after buying an additional 33,256 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Cognex by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 188,607 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,001,000 after purchasing an additional 16,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 11.0% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 35,363 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,500,000 after buying an additional 3,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of CGNX stock traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 911,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,298. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $39.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.17 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $34.79 and a one year high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Vertical Research began coverage on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.91.

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.