Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Stock Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its Cognex stake in the fourth quarter, ending with 10.48 million shares worth about $377 million and representing roughly 6.25% of the company.
• Cognex posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.34 beating estimates and revenue of $268.44 million topping forecasts, while sales rose 24.3% year over year. The company also guided Q2 2026 EPS to $0.40-$0.44.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying an average Moderate Buy rating and $69.36 target. However, insiders have recently sold shares, including a large sale by VP Laura Ann Macdonald.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 173,138.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 10,471,400 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 6.25% of Cognex worth $376,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Cognex by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 23,326 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 1st quarter valued at $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,223 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $64.26 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $53.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.97. The stock has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.50 and a beta of 1.48. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $29.00 and a fifty-two week high of $71.90.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. Cognex had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm's revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.48%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $6,554,549.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at $351,234.40. The trade was a 94.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total transaction of $230,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at $901,618.76. The trade was a 20.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 208,745 shares of company stock worth $13,862,237 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $68.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp reissued 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. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.36.

Key Cognex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its earnings estimates across multiple periods for Cognex, including a big increase to FY2026 EPS and a higher FY2027 forecast, while keeping an Overweight rating and $70 price target. That suggests Wall Street sees stronger profitability ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks item highlighted Cognex as a momentum name, reflecting improving market sentiment and technical strength around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage also pointed to strong adoption of Cognex OneVision and the launch of the In-Sight 3900 embedded AI vision system, reinforcing the company’s push into AI-enabled industrial automation. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Cognex also announced that CFO Dennis Fehr will present at the TD Cowen Technology, Media & Telecom Conference later this month, which is more of a visibility event than a direct catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A filing noted that Laura Ann Macdonald sold a large block of Cognex shares, which may weigh on sentiment slightly, though this is likely less important than the upbeat earnings and product news. Article Title

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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