Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $684,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter worth about $79,797,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Cognex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,218,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter worth $1,215,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,427,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $51,199,000 after purchasing an additional 42,292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts recently commented on CGNX shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC cut Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.83.
View Our Latest Analysis on Cognex
Cognex Stock Performance
CGNX traded down $1.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $32.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,713,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,503,488. The company's 50-day moving average is $36.55 and its 200-day moving average is $38.26. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $31.06 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 52.74 and a beta of 1.43.
Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Cognex Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex's payout ratio is 52.46%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Cognex news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $110,758.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Cognex Company Profile
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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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