Cognex Corporation $CGNX Position Boosted by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 56.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,607 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $3,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 10.6% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 8.1% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 11.5% during the second quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $36.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.11 and a beta of 1.53. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $49.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.30 and a 200-day moving average of $39.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $264.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.86 million. Cognex had a net margin of 11.33% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. Cognex has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.190-0.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 53.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CGNX shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.79.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, Director Robert Willett sold 6,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total transaction of $331,915.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Cognex

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.