Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 400,191 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,293,686 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Cognex worth $16,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 188,485 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Cognex by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,230,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $211,303,000 after purchasing an additional 131,560 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 8.1% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 301,916 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its stake in Cognex by 1.4% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,154,625 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,399,000 after acquiring an additional 53,267 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $39.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.86 and a 200-day moving average of $43.05. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 76.17 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 12 month low of $34.79 and a 12 month high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 57.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” 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 boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.