Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Melius

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

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

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock traded up $1.42 on Thursday, hitting $34.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,943,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,648,607. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The company has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 51.09 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $30.72 and its 200-day moving average is $32.06.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Cognex's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 402.2% in 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 during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 439.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 155.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Cognex by 231.9% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.