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

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.62.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $38.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.23 and a 200-day moving average of $43.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.03 and a beta of 1.41. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $34.28 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The firm had revenue of $239.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.33 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte purchased 2,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cognex by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,522,549 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $743,307,000 after purchasing an additional 188,485 shares during the last quarter. Brown Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Brown Capital Management LLC now owns 5,419,313 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $226,202,000 after purchasing an additional 262,003 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Cognex by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,098,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $237,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,116 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,018,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $187,907,000 after buying an additional 301,916 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in shares of Cognex by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,445,894 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $161,130,000 after buying an additional 49,026 shares during 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.