Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Bought by TCW Group Inc.

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in Cognex Corporation by 13.1%, acquiring an additional 69,326 shares to reach a total of 598,650 shares, valued at approximately $17.86 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their holdings in Cognex, including a 439.4% increase by Farther Finance Advisors LLC during the same quarter.
• Cognex's stock has seen analysts' mixed ratings, with an average price target of $40.25 and a range of ratings from sell to strong buy.

TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 598,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,326 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc. owned about 0.35% of Cognex worth $17,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in Cognex by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Cognex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 75,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Cognex by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Up 19.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded up $6.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $40.27. The company had a trading volume of 4,694,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,078,880. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $31.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.81. The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.41 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $50.34.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Cognex had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 6.37%. The business had revenue of $249.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $246.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.25.

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.