Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.91.

A number of research firms have weighed in on CGNX. Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $40.67 on Wednesday. Cognex has a 1-year low of $34.79 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.21 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.91.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. 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%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in Cognex by 9.4% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,055 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Cognex by 11.3% during 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 during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 123.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 20.1% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,732 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.