Cognex Corporation $CGNX Position Decreased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Cognex stake by 55.9% in the second quarter, selling 45,255 shares and retaining 35,653 shares valued at approximately $2.58 million.
• Despite the reduction, institutional investors own 88.12% of Cognex. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $75.64 versus the stock’s recent price of $61.59.
• Cognex reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, beating estimates by $0.03, while revenue rose 16.9% year over year to $291.26 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, yielding about 0.6% annually.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,653 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 45,255 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Cognex were worth $2,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 173,138.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $376,979,000 after buying an additional 10,471,400 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $73,103,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth $68,388,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 18,810.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $56,657,000 after buying an additional 1,785,159 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $252,360,000 after buying an additional 1,529,010 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,696.60. The trade was a 83.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cognex from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognex from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.64.

Cognex Trading Up 1.5%

Cognex stock opened at $61.59 on Friday. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.60 and a 1-year high of $72.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $64.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.90. The company has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.80 and a beta of 1.49.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The firm had revenue of $291.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Cognex'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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.01%.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company's product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.

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