Caxton Associates LLP Takes Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP recently acquired 50,152 shares of Cognex Corporation valued at approximately $1.5 million during the first quarter.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Cognex, with price objectives ranging from $37 to $58, underscoring a strong consensus for the stock's performance.
• Cognex has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08, yielding 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 45.07% as of the last report.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 50,152 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,496,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 75,724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 5,696 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Cognex by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 95,816 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,436,000 after acquiring an additional 21,455 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Cognex by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,018 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,558,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,405,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,809,277. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.52 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $39.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.04. Cognex Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.67 and a 52 week high of $45.23.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The firm 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. Cognex has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.240-0.290 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Cognex from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cognex from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Cognex from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Cognex from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $90,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,190. This trade represents a 18.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.