ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 38,445 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 198,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,445 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Cognex worth $7,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at $2,858,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,301 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at $267,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 35.4% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,469 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 6,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at $318,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CGNX. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Cognex from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.17.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,310,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,909. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.72 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.92. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

Cognex 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.