356,800 Shares in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 356,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $12,795,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.21% of Cognex as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1,686.7% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of CGNX stock traded down $0.52 on Monday, reaching $23.25. The stock had a trading volume of 147,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,441,396. Cognex Co. has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16 and a beta of 1.56. The firm's 50-day moving average is $30.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.85.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CGNX shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. HSBC lowered shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently 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.