Covea Finance Purchases 12,500 Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Covea Finance boosted its stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance owned approximately 0.05% of Cognex worth $2,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Cognex by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 32,316 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 6,847 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 40.1% during the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440,882 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $13,152,000 after buying an additional 126,273 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 22.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,766 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 16,472.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 819,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $24,432,000 after acquiring an additional 814,086 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Cognex from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Cognex from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.17.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $29.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,550,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,612,715. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.87 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $53.13. The stock's 50-day moving average is $28.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.47.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Cognex's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Cognex Profile

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.