Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC

Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC trimmed its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 366,571 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 14,779 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Cognex worth $13,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 129.9% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of Cognex stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,988,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,546,503. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $28.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.53. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.31 and a beta of 1.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CGNX. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.17.

About Cognex

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.