Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,290 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,097 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in Cognex by 303.1% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the second quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Up 2.6 %

CGNX stock opened at $39.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 68.16 and a beta of 1.41. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $34.28 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.08.

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

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CGNX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

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