Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,902,930 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 117,089 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.11% of Cognex worth $68,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 1,686.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Cognex Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.83. 1,775,830 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,142. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.62 and a beta of 1.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $28.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.95. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by 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.