Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Profund Advisors LLC

Profund Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 19.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,683 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,099 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in Cognex during the 2nd quarter valued at $561,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 9.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 228,247 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $10,673,000 after buying an additional 18,943 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in Cognex by 17.4% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 45,304 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,119,000 after acquiring an additional 6,712 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter worth about $980,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,827,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte purchased 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, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,950.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cognex Stock Performance

Cognex stock opened at $40.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.18. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 69.43 and a beta of 1.41. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $34.28 and a twelve month high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $239.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.33 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Cognex’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 51.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CGNX shares. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.