Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 16.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,656 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,020 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,084,000 after purchasing an additional 61,890 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 110.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,138 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 14,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 237.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,049 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,214,000 after buying an additional 37,306 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $38.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.91 and a beta of 1.42. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $34.28 and a 1 year high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 4.97%. The firm had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Cognex’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, with a total value of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.62.

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.