Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,820,394 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 461,724 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 2.23% of Cognex worth $136,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CGNX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Cognex by 129.9% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

CGNX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC lowered Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognex Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:CGNX traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $29.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,071,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,945. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.24 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $29.29 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

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 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.