Royce & Associates LP Boosts Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,384,341 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,774 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.81% of Cognex worth $56,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 276.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Cognex by 43.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.8% in 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 buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Cognex Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $40.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.94 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.08. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $34.79 and a twelve month high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 57.69%.

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.