Comerica Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,709 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 33,853 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Cognex were worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $79,797,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,299,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $209,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,996 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Cognex by 903.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 731,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $26,222,000 after buying an additional 658,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Cognex by 139.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,096,710 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $39,328,000 after buying an additional 639,258 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 437,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,257,526. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $22.67 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 52.16 and a beta of 1.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $28.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 1.01%. Cognex's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CGNX. HSBC lowered Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cowen upgraded Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 59.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.