B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 47,151 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,910,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 276.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Cognex in the second quarter valued at $55,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 43.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lowered Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens raised Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $39.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 75.52 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $34.79 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.98.

Cognex Increases Dividend

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

Cognex Company Profile

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.