Millennium Management LLC Has $28.06 Million Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 464.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 782,576 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 643,959 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.46% of Cognex worth $28,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,256,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $80,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25,492 shares in the last quarter. LRT Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cognex by 64.3% in the fourth quarter. LRT Capital Management LLC now owns 84,703 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,037,000 after acquiring an additional 33,150 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Cognex by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 27,175 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cognex Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $30.99 on Tuesday. Cognex Co. has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $28.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.80 and a beta of 1.45.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Cognex's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CGNX. TD Cowen raised shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.17.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CGNX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.