Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 22,758 Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,758 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 457,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $16,411,000 after buying an additional 14,396 shares during the period. Numerai GP LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 637.2% during the 4th quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 59,465 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,132,000 after buying an additional 51,399 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 29,989 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 21,371 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 464.6% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 782,576 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $28,063,000 after buying an additional 643,959 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,256,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $80,923,000 after buying an additional 25,492 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.72. 2,310,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,577,909. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.86. The firm has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.72 and a beta of 1.45. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson cut their price target on Cognex from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.17.

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.