Analysts Set Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) PT at $50.00

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $39.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.96. Cognex has a 1-year low of $34.28 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.62 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, with a total value of $77,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted 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 valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 34.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 3,375 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 42,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Cognex by 3.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 38.4% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 64,855 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 17,978 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.