Brown Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Brown Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 12.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,135,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 437,631 shares during the quarter. Cognex comprises 2.7% of Brown Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Brown Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $126,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 16.4% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 130,895 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,301,000 after purchasing an additional 18,404 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 20.1% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,732 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,545,000. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 255.1% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 24,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 17,854 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $39.05 on Thursday. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.10 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.01.

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 issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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 reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% 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.