AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 139.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,096,710 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 639,258 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.64% of Cognex worth $39,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 129.9% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Cognex by 1,686.7% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Cognex by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CGNX. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Cowen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.38.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $27.83 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $28.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.98. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.62 and a beta of 1.56.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Cognex's payout ratio is 52.46%.

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.

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