Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $29.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Cognex traded as low as $22.97 and last traded at $23.27, with a volume of 3580040 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.51.
CGNX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Hsbc Global Res cut Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.17.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on CGNX
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the 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 owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Cognex
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Cognex by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,784,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Cognex Stock Performance
The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26 and a beta of 1.56.
Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.
Cognex Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Cognex's payout ratio is 52.46%.
About Cognex
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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