Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 65,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,194,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CGNX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Cognex by 13.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 23,326 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 1st quarter valued at about $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,223 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at $344,714.48. The trade was a 88.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cognex Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $63.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.29 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $32.55 and a 1-year high of $72.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.15.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The firm had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Cognex from $61.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.31.

Cognex Profile

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.