Bridges Investment Management Inc. Acquires 21,481 Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 91.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,048 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,481 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 439.4% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 155.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 129.9% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Cognex by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Down 1.1%

Cognex stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.37. 1,687,432 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,649,208. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.43 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $30.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.06.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen raised 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. Truist Financial cut their price target on Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Cognex from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.77.

About Cognex

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.