Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,293,686 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 400,191 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,293,686 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $16,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the third quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 276.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.8% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $39.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.17 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.86 and its 200-day moving average is $43.05. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $34.79 and a one year high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. 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 0.81%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CGNX. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cognex 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.