Inspire Investing LLC Lowers Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,209 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 19,320 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $85,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Cognex by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,514 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,977 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $40.18 on Thursday. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.28 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.28 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.02.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The firm had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CGNX. StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research assumed coverage on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of Cognex 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 owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.