Carl Gerst Sells 6,803 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.81. 1,300,270 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,928. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.79 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $32.14 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.72.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced 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 return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company 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.