Sender Co & Partners Inc. Purchases New Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Sender Co & Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 20,402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position 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 worth $48,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of Cognex stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.97. 1,175,213 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,562,650. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $22.67 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 50.77 and a beta of 1.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $28.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.16.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC downgraded shares of Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.17.

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.