Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Holdings Raised by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,537 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,488 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Cognex worth $3,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Cognex by 1,686.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX stock traded up $0.68 on Tuesday, reaching $24.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,805,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,483. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $22.67 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.62 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.66.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% 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.