Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 261.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 209,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151,739 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Cognex were worth $7,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,797,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 122.7% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $114,808,000 after buying an additional 1,562,115 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $209,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,996 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Cognex by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,092,681 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $75,044,000 after acquiring an additional 576,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in Cognex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 642,737 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,031,000 after acquiring an additional 307,018 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX stock opened at $30.92 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.77. Cognex Co. has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.69 and a beta of 1.43.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 52.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.83.

Cognex 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.