Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,197 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,195 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.06% of Cognex worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter worth $79,797,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,299,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Cognex by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $209,427,000 after buying an additional 1,253,996 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Cognex by 903.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 731,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $26,222,000 after buying an additional 658,394 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Cognex by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,092,681 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $75,044,000 after acquiring an additional 576,788 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.
Insider Transactions at Cognex
In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms recently weighed in on CGNX. TD Cowen raised shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Cowen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.25.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on CGNX
Cognex Price Performance
Shares of CGNX traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,775,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,528,142. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.62 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $28.51 and its 200 day moving average is $34.95.
Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Cognex Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Cognex's payout ratio is 47.06%.
About Cognex
(
Free Report)
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.
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