2,225,244 Shares in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,225,244 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,797,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 123.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth $40,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $33.97 on Monday. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $31.06 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.69 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.30.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $110,758.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CGNX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

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.