Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Sells 43,849 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Stephens Investment Management Group LLC reduced its stake in Cognex Corporation by 4.2%, selling 43,849 shares, and now holds 994,994 shares valued at approximately $31.56 million.
• Despite the sale, institutional investors continue to show significant interest in Cognex, holding 88.12% of the company's stock, with several firms increasing their stakes by over 400% in the first quarter.
• Analysts remain positive on Cognex’s potential, with varied price targets; Barclays set a target of $55.00 and multiple firms rated the stock as "buy," pointing to a consensus price target of $44.93.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lessened its holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 994,994 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 43,849 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 0.59% of Cognex worth $31,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognex by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 439.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Cognex by 231.9% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Cognex by 82.6% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.03, for a total value of $90,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,387.46. This trade represents a 23.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CGNX shares. Barclays set a $55.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Cognex from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Cognex from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Cognex from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.93.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $48.27 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $44.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.99 and a beta of 1.50. Cognex Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $49.76.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $249.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $246.70 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 13.13%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Cognex has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.240-0.290 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is 45.07%.

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.

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