XTX Topco Ltd Takes $280,000 Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,991 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 14.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 24,730 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after buying an additional 3,146 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,182,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognex during the second quarter worth $202,000. Wealth Alliance acquired a new position in Cognex during the second quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Cognex during the second quarter worth $518,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $40.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 69.43 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.70 and its 200-day moving average is $43.18. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.28 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

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

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.72%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dianne M. Parrotte purchased 2,000 shares of Cognex 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 completion of the purchase, the director now 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.