Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Rating Increased to Overweight at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $55.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $45.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CGNX. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Cognex Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $40.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.01. Cognex has a 12-month low of $34.28 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.26 and a beta of 1.41.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 4.97%. The firm had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.72%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased 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. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Cognex by 94.4% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 1,239.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in Cognex by 303.1% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 276.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cognex

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.