Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Bought by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,767,426 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,965 shares during the period. Cognex accounts for 1.2% of Copeland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $71,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cognex by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,522,549 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $743,307,000 after acquiring an additional 188,485 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in Cognex by 32.8% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,098,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $237,812,000 after buying an additional 1,259,116 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 8.1% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,018,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $187,907,000 after buying an additional 301,916 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1.4% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,445,894 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $161,130,000 after acquiring an additional 49,026 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Cognex by 29.0% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,663,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $113,722,000 after acquiring an additional 598,207 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $39.63 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.02. The stock has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 68.33 and a beta of 1.41. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.28 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.33 million. Cognex had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 4.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CGNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens upgraded Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.