Legal & General Group Plc Has $41.45 Million Holdings in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its Cognex stake by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,152,053 shares valued at about $41.45 million.
• Cognex reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $0.34 versus $0.25 expected and revenue of $268.44 million, up 24.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $70.43, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share.

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,152,053 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,652 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.69% of Cognex worth $41,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $14,450,000 after purchasing an additional 37,405 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Cognex by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,101,583 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $292,224,000 after purchasing an additional 76,212 shares during the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,761,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Cognex by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $137,003,000 after purchasing an additional 922,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 477,658 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $17,186,000 after purchasing an additional 76,540 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 94.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares in the company, valued at $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on CGNX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Cognex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up from $60.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.43.

Cognex Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $65.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.39 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.52. Cognex Corporation has a 12-month low of $29.22 and a 12-month high of $71.90.

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

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Cognex Company 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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