Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given New $26.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $37.00 to $26.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. HSBC cut Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.83.

Cognex Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $24.45 on Monday. Cognex has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.26 and a 200 day moving average of $36.30.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Cognex by 5.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,784,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,262,000 after acquiring an additional 87,790 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,427,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,199,000 after purchasing an additional 42,292 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $790,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in Cognex by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 337,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,096,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% 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.