Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 241,374 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,707 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $8,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 50.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 129.9% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $23.45 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.54.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

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.