Amundi Decreases Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Amundi lowered its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,181 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 5,350 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Cognex were worth $2,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 123.1% during the 3rd 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 period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Cognex by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.83.

Cognex Trading Up 4.1 %

CGNX stock opened at $31.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.66 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.04.

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 return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. On average, research analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

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.