Copeland Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,767,426 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 162,965 shares during the period. Cognex makes up approximately 1.2% of Copeland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned 1.03% of Cognex worth $71,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 474,163 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $19,204,000 after purchasing an additional 95,063 shares during the period. Slow Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Cognex by 13.2% during the third quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 80,593 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,264,000 after buying an additional 9,415 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Cognex by 719.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,171 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,929 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.40 on Tuesday, reaching $39.23. The company had a trading volume of 796,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,146. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 68.33 and a beta of 1.41. Cognex Co. has a 52-week low of $34.28 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $39.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.02.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognex from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.00.

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.