Virtu Financial LLC Has $261,000 Stock Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,279 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 12,235 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Cognex were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $79,797,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Cognex by 122.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $114,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,115 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $209,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,996 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Cognex by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,092,681 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $75,044,000 after purchasing an additional 576,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its stake in Cognex by 8.9% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,751,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $151,948,000 after purchasing an additional 305,913 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded up $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,385,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,577. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $29.29 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $34.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.33. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 50.15 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CGNX. HSBC lowered Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.83.

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.