Two Sigma Investments LP Takes $1.14 Million Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 31,690 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,136,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Cognex by 3.1% in 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 period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 75.1% during 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 during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 457,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $16,411,000 after buying an additional 14,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Cognex from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Cognex from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC lowered Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.17.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded up $0.86 during trading on Monday, hitting $31.14. 1,929,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,595,107. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.05 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $53.13.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

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.