Cognex Corporation $CGNX Stock Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its Cognex stake by 2.7% in Q3, to nearly 6.0 million shares worth about $363 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the stock.
• Cognex reported Q3 earnings of $0.53 per share, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 13% year over year. Management raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $1.14 billion–$1.16 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend 5.9%, to $0.09 per share. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $72.93, though several firms recently cut their targets.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,985,986 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 156,108 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 3.56% of Cognex worth $363,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CGNX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,158,123,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $161,425,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,227,288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $135,085,000 after buying an additional 11,927 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 81.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,660,411 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $130,320,000 after buying an additional 1,190,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the second quarter worth approximately $129,348,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $47.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.41 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.04. Cognex Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.60 and a 52-week high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $313.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.62 million. Cognex had a net margin of 21.50% and a return on equity of 15.75%. Cognex's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Cognex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.0850. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.78%.

Key Stories Impacting Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cognex reported record Q3 results, with earnings of $0.53 per share beating estimates and revenue growing year over year. Management raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $1.14 billion–$1.16 billion and cited margin expansion and stronger logistics demand. Q3 earnings call outlook and margin expansion
• Positive Sentiment: The planned RealSense acquisition could add growth opportunities, while management is targeting further margin expansion. Cognex reports record third-quarter results and RealSense acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 5.9% to $0.09 per share, a modest signal of confidence in cash generation.
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut their price targets: Stephens lowered its target to $70, KeyCorp to $65, Needham to $70, and Truist to $57. The cuts may temper enthusiasm despite the improved outlook; ratings remain mostly overweight or buy, while Truist is at hold. Stephens price-target change

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Zacks Research lowered Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.93.

Cognex Company Profile

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