Algert Global LLC Cuts Stock Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Algert Global LLC lessened its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 37.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 70,097 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 42,153 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $3,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CGNX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 986.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469,961 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the first quarter worth about $58,502,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 32.8% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,098,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $237,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,116 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 41.4% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,716,623 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $157,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 132.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,272,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,509,000 after acquiring an additional 723,976 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cognex

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.62.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $40.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.83 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.21. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $34.28 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $240.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

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.