Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives $44.83 Average PT from Brokerages

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.83.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CGNX shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Cognex Stock Down 1.0 %

CGNX stock opened at $31.56 on Friday. Cognex has a twelve month low of $31.06 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.74 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.44.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 129.9% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.