Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stake Lifted by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP increased its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 791.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,580 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,578 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $209,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,996 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Cognex by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,190,365 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $210,210,000 after purchasing an additional 42,882 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its stake in Cognex by 8.9% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,751,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $151,948,000 after purchasing an additional 305,913 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $146,157,000 after purchasing an additional 175,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Cognex by 122.7% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $114,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,115 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $30.92 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.69 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Equities research analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.