Front Street Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Front Street Capital Management acquired 1.26 million Cognex shares worth approximately $90.6 million, making the stock its second-largest holding and representing about 0.75% of Cognex.
• Cognex reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, beating estimates by $0.03, while revenue rose 16.9% year over year to $291.3 million. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $1.64–$1.68.
• Shares recently traded at $58.54, down 3.3%, despite a “Moderate Buy” analyst consensus and an average price target of $75.64. Cognex also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, yielding 0.6% annually.

Front Street Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,255,029 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $90,581,000. Cognex accounts for about 10.3% of Front Street Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Front Street Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.75% of Cognex at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth $1,158,123,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 173,138.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $376,979,000 after acquiring an additional 10,471,400 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $252,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,010 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,314,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $191,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,629 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 0.9% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,768,716 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $151,264,000 after purchasing an additional 40,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $58.54 on Tuesday. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $72.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.84 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.01.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $291.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.10 million. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. Cognex's quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. Analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 33.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cognex from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Stephens raised their price target on Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company's product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.

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