Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 39.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,529 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 28,161 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.06% of Cognex worth $3,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $85,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Cognex by 11.3% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Cognex by 18.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,977 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Cognex by 2.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 43.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Trading Down 0.3 %

CGNX traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.91. 1,311,656 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,488. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.52 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $34.79 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens upgraded Cognex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.91.

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.