Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $26.90 and last traded at $27.25, with a volume of 911462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.59.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. HSBC cut Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.83.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CGNX
Cognex Price Performance
The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.18 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.03.
Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.
Cognex Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 1.6% in the fourth 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 period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $209,427,000 after buying an additional 1,253,996 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.8% in the 3rd 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. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Cognex by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,820,394 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $136,999,000 after buying an additional 461,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in Cognex by 8.9% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 305,913 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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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