Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 57,984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,348,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Cognex by 2.6% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,230,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $211,303,000 after acquiring an additional 131,560 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,018,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $187,907,000 after purchasing an additional 301,916 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in shares of Cognex by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,445,894 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $161,130,000 after purchasing an additional 49,026 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 2,056,701 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $96,171,000 after purchasing an additional 480,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,767,426 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $71,581,000 after buying an additional 162,965 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial downgraded Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson reduced 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One 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.com, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $39.98. 484,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,263,958. The company has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 77.14 and a beta of 1.40. The business's fifty day moving average is $40.09 and its 200 day moving average is $42.77. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid 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 yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,065,118.24. The trade was a 49.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.