Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Has $11.44 Million Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 24.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,400 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 92,800 shares during the period. Cognex makes up 2.0% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Cognex were worth $11,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thomas Story & Son LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 16.1% in the third quarter. Thomas Story & Son LLC now owns 143,927 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,829,000 after purchasing an additional 19,915 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Cognex by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 90,122 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 10,284 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 31,844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP acquired a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $632,000. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $608,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Cognex stock opened at $42.91 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.52 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.62 and a 200-day moving average of $43.04.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insider Transactions 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 bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

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.