Royce & Associates LP Grows Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 1.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,384,341 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,774 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Cognex were worth $56,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CGNX. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 276.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 43.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.8% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson cut their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stephens upgraded Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cognex Stock Down 2.0 %

CGNX opened at $40.53 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.08. Cognex Co. has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.94 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.69%.

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.