Mairs & Power Inc. Has $27.78 Million Stock Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Mairs & Power Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 372.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 613,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 483,517 shares during the period. Mairs & Power Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $27,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the third quarter worth $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in Cognex during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter valued at $38,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $49.56 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.57 and its 200-day moving average is $43.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 73.97 and a beta of 1.45. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. Cognex had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. Cognex’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 50.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,618.76. The trade was a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CGNX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cognex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

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.