Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Montanaro Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Montanaro Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Cognex Corporation by 39.8%, now holding 140,202 shares valued at approximately $4.18 million.
• Analysts have generally rated Cognex positively, with seven buy ratings and a consensus price target of $42.31, indicating expected continued growth.
• Cognex announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 39.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 140,202 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 92,548 shares during the period. Cognex makes up approximately 1.2% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned 0.08% of Cognex worth $4,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 17.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,223 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in Cognex by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Cognex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 75,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,710,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 7.4% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 155.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Trading Down 1.5%

Cognex stock traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $43.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,103,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,289,682. Cognex Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $44.39. The company's fifty day moving average is $34.35 and its 200-day moving average is $31.98. The company has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.30 and a beta of 1.47.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $249.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Cowen upgraded Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Cognex from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Cognex from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Cognex from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 target price (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.31.

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.