Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Upgraded by Melius to "Buy" Rating

Melius upgraded shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $60.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CGNX. UBS Group decreased their price target on Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cognex from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Cognex from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Cowen upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.77.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $34.35. 2,555,057 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,137. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.06. Cognex 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 $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.51 and a beta of 1.47.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Cognex by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 439.4% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 155.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. 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.