KBC Group NV Acquires 2,614 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,246 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,614 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.10% of Cognex worth $6,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its position in Cognex by 1,686.7% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CGNX shares. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Cognex from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.92.

Cognex Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of CGNX opened at $39.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.39 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.02.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,065,118.24. This trade represents a 49.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.