Point72 Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 132.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,272,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 723,976 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $59,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Cognex by 94.4% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Cognex by 303.1% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1,239.7% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 43.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cognex

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

Cognex Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $38.74 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.20. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $34.28 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 66.79 and a beta of 1.41.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.33 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. Cognex’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid 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 0.77%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.62.

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.