4,523 Shares in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Acquired by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,523 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 94.4% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 1,239.7% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 303.1% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX opened at $39.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.22. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.52 and a beta of 1.41. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $34.28 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.33 million. Cognex had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 4.97%. Cognex’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CGNX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.62.

Cognex 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.