Cognex Corporation $CGNX Stake Boosted by Welch & Forbes LLC

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes increased its Cognex stake by 18.4% in the third quarter, to 391,428 shares valued at about $23.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 88.12% of the company.
• Analyst views are mixed, but Cognex has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $71.50 average price target. Recent target changes ranged from cuts to $70 to increases as high as $85.
• Cognex reported quarterly EPS of $0.53, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 13% year over year to $313.39 million. It also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.085 to $0.09 per share.

Welch & Forbes LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 18.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 391,428 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 60,768 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.23% of Cognex worth $23,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Cognex during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 81.3% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 446 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 635.4% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Cognex from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Cognex from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Cognex from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Cognex Trading Up 5.4%

Shares of CGNX opened at $50.34 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $58.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.09. The company has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.60 and a twelve month high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $313.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $313.62 million. Cognex had a net margin of 21.50% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.0850. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.17%.

About Cognex

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