Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Rating Increased to Buy at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. TD Cowen currently has $35.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CGNX. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Cowen upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.23.

Cognex Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Cognex stock traded up $0.50 on Monday, hitting $27.30. 4,077,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,522,220. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $28.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.20. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.75 and a beta of 1.56. Cognex has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Cognex by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Cognex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.