New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 131,191 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 729,339 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 131,191 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.42% of Cognex worth $29,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the second quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Cognex by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at $437,950.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of Cognex 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 of the company's stock, valued at $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Stephens raised Cognex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.17.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $40.85. The company had a trading volume of 962,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,283,050. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $34.79 and a one year high of $53.13. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $39.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.96. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 77.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This is an increase from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.69%.

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.