Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 374,999 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,598,728 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 374,999 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.10% of Cognex worth $842,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognex in the third quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at $372,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,520 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 38,989 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth $747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $56.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.63 and a beta of 1.53. Cognex Corporation has a twelve month low of $22.67 and a twelve month high of $59.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.14.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $252.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.92 million. Cognex had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.75%.

Key Stories Impacting Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and revenue beat reinforced momentum; investors are reacting to accelerating sales and profit improvements. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising earnings estimates, which typically supports higher share prices as future EPS expectations improve. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sell-side and independent outlets are upbeat: a Goldman Sachs analyst is forecasting further upside, and Zacks upgraded CGNX to a “strong-buy,” adding institutional credibility. Read More. | Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage in robotics/AI roundup pieces highlights Cognex as an overlooked beneficiary of automation tailwinds, which can attract momentum traders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentations at industry conferences increase investor access to guidance and strategy but do not by themselves change fundamentals. Read More. | Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary is mixed on valuation/timing — several articles ask whether buying after a ~70% rally is sensible, prompting caution among new buyers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in the feed appears inconsistent/zeroed out and is not a reliable signal at present (no clear days-to-cover pressure).
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and recent run-up increase downside risk: CGNX trades at a high P/E and near its 52-week high, which could prompt profit-taking if growth expectations slip or macro sentiment weakens.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CGNX. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price target on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.21.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at $126,437.92. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $10,338,066.28. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Profile

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.