Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Acquires 72,667 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 16.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 506,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 72,667 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $22,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CGNX. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 402.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $850,597.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,437.92. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,222 shares in the company, valued at $901,618.76. The trade was a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 196,083 shares of company stock worth $11,419,321. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Cognex stock opened at $49.45 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.98 and a 200-day moving average of $42.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.81 and a beta of 1.45. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $59.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.92 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be 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 is Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 50.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.21.

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.