KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 35,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,262,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Cognex by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,784,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $72,262,000 after buying an additional 87,790 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 42,292 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth about $790,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 583,150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $23,618,000 after purchasing an additional 96,330 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CGNX shares. HSBC lowered shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cognex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of Cognex stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $30.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,762,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,267,749. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $34.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.44. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $28.79 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

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.