ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 49,099 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC cut its Cognex stake by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 49,099 shares and ending with 156,034 shares valued at about $5.6 million.
• Insiders have also been selling: VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares, and insiders sold 208,745 shares worth $13.86 million over the last quarter.
• Cognex reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and the stock has also benefited from analyst support, including multiple raised price targets and a newly announced quarterly dividend.

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,034 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 49,099 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Cognex worth $5,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CGNX. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 74.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 207.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 935 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $6,554,549.60. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at $351,234.40. The trade was a 94.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,222 shares in the company, valued at $901,618.76. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 208,745 shares of company stock worth $13,862,237 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Cognex Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $66.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.68 and a beta of 1.48. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $29.00 and a 12 month high of $71.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $55.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.60.

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. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The firm had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Cognex's payout ratio is 40.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Cognex from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $61.00 price target on Cognex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.36.

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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