Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Acquired by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 435,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,838 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.25% of Cognex worth $17,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Cognex by 38.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 64,855 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 17,978 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,522,549 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $743,307,000 after buying an additional 188,485 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Cognex by 153.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 134,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $5,706,000 after buying an additional 81,467 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 30.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 870,822 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $36,940,000 after buying an additional 203,684 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Cognex by 29.0% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,663,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $113,722,000 after acquiring an additional 598,207 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of CGNX stock traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.53. 979,685 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,281,994. The firm's 50-day moving average is $39.09 and its 200 day moving average is $43.08. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $34.28 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.16 and a beta of 1.41.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $239.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CGNX shares. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

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

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.