Inceptionr LLC Buys Shares of 19,073 Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 19,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $79,797,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $1,218,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $1,215,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,427,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,199,000 after purchasing an additional 42,292 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $33.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.32. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.69 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $31.06 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. On average, analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $110,758.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.83.

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.