15,991,755 Shares in Cognex Corporation $CGNX Purchased by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 15.99 million Cognex shares worth approximately $1.16 billion, giving it a 9.61% stake in the machine-vision company. Institutional investors collectively own 88.12% of Cognex.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed: Cognex has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $75.64, while HSBC and Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• Cognex reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 16.9% year over year to $291.26 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, equating to a 0.6% annual yield.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,991,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,158,123,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 9.61% of Cognex as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CGNX. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 98,451 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,542,000 after purchasing an additional 54,600 shares during the period. One Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex during the fourth quarter worth about $1,945,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 76.3% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 758,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,303,000 after purchasing an additional 328,427 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,152,053 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $41,451,000 after purchasing an additional 114,652 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 80,511 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,897,000 after purchasing an additional 29,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CGNX shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.64.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX stock opened at $60.54 on Friday. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $34.60 and a one year high of $72.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.76. The firm has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.78 and a beta of 1.49.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 16.05%.The firm had revenue of $291.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total transaction of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This trade represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Cognex Profile

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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