Freestone Grove Partners LP Buys Shares of 389,605 Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 389,605 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,215,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CGNX. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,426,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,579,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $161,425,000. J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new position in Cognex in the second quarter worth approximately $16,550,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Cognex in the second quarter worth approximately $2,982,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $62.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of 61.14 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.60 and a 1 year high of $72.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $291.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.10 million. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. Analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CGNX. UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price objective on Cognex in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.64.

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.