Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,700,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Cognex were worth $68,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cognex by 123.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Cognex by 276.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Cognex during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens upgraded Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $40.67 on Monday. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $34.79 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.91. The company has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

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.