Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 842,783 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Cognex stake by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 842,783 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 3,950,299 shares valued at about $142.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or adjusted positions, while institutional ownership remains high at 88.12%. Meanwhile, insiders sold a total of 224,847 shares last quarter, including sizable sales by two vice presidents.
• Cognex posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and the stock has drawn mostly bullish analyst coverage with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a price target around $70.43.

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,950,299 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 842,783 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.36% of Cognex worth $142,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Cognex by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 202.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total transaction of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at $264,696.60. The trade was a 83.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $6,554,549.60. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $351,234.40. The trade was a 94.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 in the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $64.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.99 and a beta of 1.52. The business's 50 day moving average price is $58.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.37. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $29.22 and a fifty-two week high of $71.90.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.98 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $61.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.43.

Cognex Profile

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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