Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 9,440 Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,440 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,427,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $51,199,000 after acquiring an additional 42,292 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Cognex by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Cognex by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 337,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $12,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.17.

Cognex Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of CGNX stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $29.89. 1,687,397 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,909. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 49.00 and a beta of 1.45. Cognex Co. has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.99 and a 200 day moving average of $34.13.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

About Cognex

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.