Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lessened its holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 574,766 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 24,260 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned 0.34% of Cognex worth $17,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 439.4% in 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 raised its position in shares of Cognex by 155.3% in 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. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 105.5% in 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $34.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,663,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,936. The stock has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.25 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $50.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.92.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Cognex's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Melius raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Cognex from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.25.

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.