Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target Cut to $35.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective trimmed by The Goldman Sachs Group from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

CGNX has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.42.

Cognex Trading Down 0.7 %

CGNX opened at $33.40 on Tuesday. Cognex has a 12 month low of $32.41 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.77. The company has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.75 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Cognex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Cognex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% 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.