Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $7.40 Million Stock Holdings in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its stake in Cognex Corporation by 58.3%, owning 248,212 shares worth approximately $7.40 million by the end of the recent quarter.
• Cognex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 14th.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings on Cognex, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $42.31, reflecting a variety of investor sentiments towards the company's future performance.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. cut its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 58.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 248,212 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 347,321 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.15% of Cognex worth $7,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 439.4% during the 1st 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 raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 155.3% during the 1st 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. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 105.5% during the 1st 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 position in shares of Cognex during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 82.6% during the 1st 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 Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $42.70 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $34.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.89. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $44.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 60.14 and a beta of 1.47.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 13.13%. The firm had revenue of $249.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Cognex's payout ratio is 45.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CGNX. KeyCorp raised Cognex from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Cognex from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Cognex from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. TD Cowen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.31.

Cognex Company Profile

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.

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