Cognex Corporation $CGNX Position Lessened by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lessened its position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 30.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 607,336 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 271,154 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.36% of Cognex worth $36,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CGNX. Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,461,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $918,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 731,149 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,819,000 after purchasing an additional 249,877 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,034,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,894,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,189,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,212. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.30. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.97 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.60 and a 1-year high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Cognex had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 21.50%. The firm had revenue of $313.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0850. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 23.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CGNX. HSBC downgraded shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cognex from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.00.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision products that help businesses automate the inspection, identification and measurement of manufactured goods and packages. Its offerings include vision systems, barcode readers, vision sensors and software that analyze images captured during production and logistics operations. The company’s technology is used in industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and logistics. Applications include checking product quality, guiding robots and reading codes on items moving through manufacturing and distribution facilities.