Truist Financial Corp Decreases Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Truist Financial Corp cut its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 16.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,168 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 17,532 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Cognex worth $4,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 94.4% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 1,239.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 303.1% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 276.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $38.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,159,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,594. Cognex Co. has a 12 month low of $34.28 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 67.17 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.11.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The company had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lowered 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. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.17.

Cognex 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.