Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives $39.17 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.17.

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cowen raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $662,687,000 after purchasing an additional 296,251 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,082,319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $181,436,000 after buying an additional 1,474,832 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $209,427,000 after buying an additional 1,253,996 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 126.2% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,609,802 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $137,510,000 after buying an additional 2,571,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Cognex by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,820,394 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $136,999,000 after buying an additional 461,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $30.97 on Wednesday. Cognex has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.77 and a beta of 1.45.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

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.