Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Has $3.16 Million Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its position in Cognex Corporation (CGNX) by 12.1%, holding approximately 99,475 shares worth $3.16 million after selling 13,650 shares in the second quarter.
• Cognex recently reported $0.25 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue increasing 4.2% year-over-year.
• Wall Street Analysts have shown optimism, with multiple firms raising their price targets, leading to a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $43.07.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 12.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,475 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 13,650 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. owned about 0.06% of Cognex worth $3,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CGNX. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,018 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $1,136,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 466,889 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $16,743,000 after buying an additional 90,640 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp raised Cognex from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Melius raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Cognex from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.07.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX opened at $45.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.11 and a beta of 1.50. Cognex Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $47.52. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.73 and its 200-day moving average is $33.75.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $249.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.70 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 13.13%.Cognex's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Cognex has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.240-0.290 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.03, for a total value of $90,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,387.46. This trade represents a 23.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognex 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.

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