Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 979 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Captrust Financial Advisors trimmed its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,434 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 979 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Cognex were worth $2,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group boosted its position in Cognex by 1,686.7% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Cognex by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CGNX opened at $29.47 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.13 and its 200 day moving average is $34.53. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 48.31 and a beta of 1.45. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CGNX. Hsbc Global Res cut Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Cognex from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.