Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Sells 92,800 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,400 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 92,800 shares during the period. Cognex comprises about 2.0% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.16% of Cognex worth $11,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter worth about $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Cognex by 303.1% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 276.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Cognex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens raised Cognex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.91.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,311,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,488. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.52 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.06.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a positive change from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is 61.54%.

About Cognex

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.