Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) VP Laura Ann Macdonald Sells 98,122 Shares

Key Points

• Cognex VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares on May 11 at an average price of $66.80, totaling about $6.55 million. After the sale, she retained 5,258 shares, cutting her ownership by 94.91%.
• The company just reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.34 versus estimates of $0.25 and revenue of $268.44 million, up 24.3% year over year. Cognex also issued Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $0.40 to $0.44.
• Cognex declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, payable June 4 to shareholders of record on May 21. The stock was trading lower on the day despite the positive earnings report, with analysts maintaining a consensus Moderate Buy rating and $68.86 price target.

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $6,554,549.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $351,234.40. This represents a 94.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Laura Ann Macdonald also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 12th, Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of Cognex stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $2,727,296.00.
• On Thursday, February 12th, Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of Cognex stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96.

Cognex Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of CGNX stock traded down $1.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $65.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,359,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,228,531. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.19 and a beta of 1.48. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $29.00 and a one year high of $71.90. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $53.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.47.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The firm had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 13.3% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $14,450,000 after buying an additional 37,405 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,101,583 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $292,224,000 after purchasing an additional 76,212 shares during the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter worth $5,761,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $137,003,000 after purchasing an additional 922,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 477,658 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $17,186,000 after purchasing an additional 76,540 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $55.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.86.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company's product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.

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