Natixis Advisors LLC Has $2.52 Million Stock Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,284 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 31,736 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Cognex were worth $2,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Cognex in the third quarter worth $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 worth $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Cognex by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Cognex by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of CGNX traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $41.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,150,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,070. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.97 and a 200 day moving average of $42.89. The company has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.21 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This is a boost from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex's payout ratio is 61.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CGNX shares. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,608 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,118.24. This represents a 49.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.