Premier Fund Managers Ltd Buys 17,854 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 255.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,854 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Cognex were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Cognex in the third quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 276.1% in 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 position in shares of Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Cognex by 19.8% in the second 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 during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut 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 note on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.91.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.75 on Wednesday, hitting $38.51. 269,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,270,011. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.85 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.01.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Cognex Company 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.