KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Holdings in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in Cognex by 31.2% in Q4, selling 45,000 shares and now holding 99,409 shares worth $3.58M (0.06% of the company).
• Company insiders sold a total of 196,083 shares (about $11.42M) in the past 90 days, including a 177,052-share sale by Director Robert Willett; insiders now own 1.70% of the stock.
• Cognex recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.27 vs. $0.22) with revenue up 9.9% to $252.34M, the stock trades near its one-year high (~$55.50), and analysts have a consensus target of $57 with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,409 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 45,000 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.06% of Cognex worth $3,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 13.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 23,326 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Cognex in the 1st quarter valued at about $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,415,000 after buying an additional 9,223 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Cognex by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,618.76. This represents a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $55.50 on Monday. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $22.85 and a one year high of $59.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 82.84 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.28.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 11.51%.The company had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. Cognex's payout ratio is presently 50.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

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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