Atria Investments Inc Reduces Stock Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Atria Investments Inc cut its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,181 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Cognex were worth $453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 276.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter worth about $55,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.8% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $39.05 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.85 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.