Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 817,160 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 323,931 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.48% of Cognex worth $29,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 50.0% in 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 during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 129.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 50.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.17.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.58. 1,607,092 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,562,492. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.77 and a beta of 1.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $28.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.29.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.