Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 126,273 Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 40.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 440,882 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 126,273 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC owned about 0.26% of Cognex worth $13,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth $79,797,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth $46,299,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $209,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,996 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 16,472.8% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Cognex by 903.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 731,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $26,222,000 after acquiring an additional 658,394 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 834,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,609,524. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.71. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.07 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CGNX. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. HSBC lowered Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen upgraded Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.17.

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.