Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price Down 4.3% – Time to Sell?

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) shares fell 4.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $31.09 and last traded at $30.97. 998,787 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 1,182,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Down 3.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.96 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.93.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,784,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,262,000 after buying an additional 87,790 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Cognex by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,427,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,199,000 after purchasing an additional 42,292 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $790,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position 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 valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 17,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.