Millennium Management LLC Sells 97,967 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC reduced its stake in Cognex Corporation by 12.5%, selling 97,967 shares, leaving it with 684,609 shares valued at approximately $20.4 million.
• Several institutional investors, including T. Rowe Price and Mackenzie Financial Corp, have significantly increased their stakes in Cognex, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Cognex reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.25, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share with a yield of 0.7%.

Millennium Management LLC reduced its holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 684,609 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 97,967 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.41% of Cognex worth $20,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Cognex by 439.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Cognex by 155.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Cognex by 105.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cognex during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Cognex by 82.6% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded up $2.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $46.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,678,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,273. Cognex Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.67 and a 52 week high of $46.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $40.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 65.06 and a beta of 1.50.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Cognex had a net margin of 13.13% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company had revenue of $249.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $246.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Cognex's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.240-0.290 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cognex's payout ratio is 45.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $90,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,582 shares in the company, valued at $386,190. The trade was a 18.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cognex from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Cognex in a report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, July 14th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Cognex from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cognex from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.07.

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.