Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Takes Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 34,287 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Cognex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cognex by 50.0% in 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $24.95 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.90 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.15.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Research analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.