112,232 Shares in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Acquired by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 112,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,545,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Cognex at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.8% in the 2nd 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. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Cognex by 11.3% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Cognex by 2.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 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 owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognex Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $40.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.93. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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 dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

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.