William Blair Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management increased its Cognex stake by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 165,005 shares and bringing its holdings to 1,053,280 shares valued at about $37.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment is constructive, with Cognex carrying a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.36. Several firms recently raised price targets, including Goldman Sachs to $80 and JPMorgan to $65.
• Cognex reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting 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, payable June 4.

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,053,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 165,005 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.63% of Cognex worth $37,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 402.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Cognex by 74.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Miller Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Cognex by 202.7% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CGNX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial set a $61.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cognex from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $6,554,549.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at $351,234.40. This trade represents a 94.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $4,349,734.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $755,184.15. This represents a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 204,595 shares of company stock valued at $13,631,580. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX opened at $66.09 on Monday. Cognex Corporation has a 52 week low of $29.00 and a 52 week high of $71.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.63. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.68 and a beta of 1.48.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The business had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.48%.

Cognex Company Profile

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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