Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Has $8.35 Million Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 49,650 shares during the period. Cognex accounts for about 1.7% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.14% of Cognex worth $8,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,479,828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $662,687,000 after purchasing an additional 296,251 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $209,427,000 after buying an additional 1,253,996 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Cognex by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,190,365 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $210,210,000 after buying an additional 42,882 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in shares of Cognex by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,751,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $151,948,000 after buying an additional 305,913 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $146,157,000 after acquiring an additional 175,423 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Cognex Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Cognex stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 337,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,611. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $28.62 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 48.53 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50-day moving average price is $34.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.50.

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

Cognex Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company'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 transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Hsbc Global Res cut Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.83.

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.