SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 16,472.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 819,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 814,086 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.48% of Cognex worth $24,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Cognex by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,224,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,898. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 49.43 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $22.67 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.97.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen upgraded Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cowen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Cognex from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Cognex from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.67.

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.