Brokerages Set Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Target Price at $47.92

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.83.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $1,040,780.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,065,118.24. The trade was a 49.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 1,686.7% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $37.19 on Thursday. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 71.52 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.67.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

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.