Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stake in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its Cognex stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 293,191 shares worth about $10.55 million.
• Cognex reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.34 versus $0.25 expected and revenue of $268.44 million, up 24.3% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $69.36.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 293,191 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,237 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.17% of Cognex worth $10,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 18,810.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $56,657,000 after buying an additional 1,785,159 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Cognex by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $252,360,000 after buying an additional 1,529,010 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Cognex by 43.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $137,003,000 after buying an additional 922,149 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Cognex by 10,861.7% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 782,776 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,460,000 after buying an additional 775,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 342.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 974,865 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $44,162,000 after buying an additional 754,389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $755,184.15. The trade was a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at $344,714.48. This trade represents a 88.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 208,745 shares of company stock valued at $13,862,237 over the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $60.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 72.20 and a beta of 1.48. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $29.00 and a 1-year high of $71.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $54.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.15.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. Cognex had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cognex's payout ratio is 40.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CGNX. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Truist Financial set a $61.00 price target on shares of Cognex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.36.

About Cognex

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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