Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $40.46, but opened at $43.39. Cognex shares last traded at $42.89, with a volume of 426,279 shares trading hands.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The company had revenue of $234.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.86 million.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CGNX. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, with a total value of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Olympiad Research LP acquired a new position in Cognex during the third quarter worth $632,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at $608,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in Cognex by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,230,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $211,303,000 after acquiring an additional 131,560 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Cognex by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 99,529 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,858,000 after acquiring an additional 28,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognex by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 22,210 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,781 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.76 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.93.

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.