Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 36,969 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Cognex stake by 898% in the second quarter, acquiring 36,969 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 41,086 shares valued at approximately $2.98 million. Institutional investors collectively own 88.12% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Cognex receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $75.64. Price targets from major brokerages range from $65 to $91.
• Cognex reported quarterly earnings of $0.45 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 16.9% year over year to $291.26 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, equivalent to a 0.6% annual yield.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 898.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,086 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,969 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Cognex were worth $2,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cognex during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 635.4% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. HSBC lowered 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. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.64.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $60.10 on Thursday. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.60 and a fifty-two week high of $72.88. The firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 58.35 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The company 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 firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. 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. Research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.01%.

Cognex Profile

Cognex Corporation NASDAQ: CGNX develops machine vision technologies that help businesses automate inspection, identification, measurement and guidance tasks. Its systems enable manufacturing and logistics operations to analyze images and make decisions about products, components and packages.

The company's product portfolio includes industrial cameras, vision sensors, barcode readers, three-dimensional vision systems and machine vision software. Cognex also offers artificial intelligence and deep-learning tools designed to address complex inspection and classification applications, along with engineering, implementation and support services.

Founded in 1981 by Robert J.

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