Eagle Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 23.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,446,716 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 453,759 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $62,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cognex by 123.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 276.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.91.

Cognex Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $39.27 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $34.79 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.52 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.98.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

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.