Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 831 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,354 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 831 shares during the quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group lifted its position in Cognex by 1,686.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $23.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.61 and a beta of 1.56. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.67 and a 200-day moving average of $36.12.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Equities research analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC cut Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.83.

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.