Natixis Advisors L.P. Sells 143,328 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Natixis Advisors L.P. reduced its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 63.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,313 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 143,328 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Cognex were worth $3,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 252,116 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $10,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,400 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth $967,000. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 13,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,053 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 22,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $950,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $274,942.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. StockNews.com lowered Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. HSBC raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stephens raised their target price on Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cognex from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.15.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.85. 1,123,998 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,476. The company's fifty day moving average is $41.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.34. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.28 and a fifty-two week high of $59.51. The stock has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 80.78 and a beta of 1.48.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $196.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $189.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is 51.72%.

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.