Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Position Reduced by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,227,914 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 8,871 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.72% of Cognex worth $44,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,479,828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $662,687,000 after purchasing an additional 296,251 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cognex by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $209,427,000 after buying an additional 1,253,996 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Cognex by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,820,394 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $136,999,000 after acquiring an additional 461,724 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,797,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Cognex by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,092,681 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $75,044,000 after purchasing an additional 576,788 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cognex Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CGNX opened at $29.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.59. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.31 and a beta of 1.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Equities research analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cowen raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.17.

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.