Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) PT Raised to $55.00

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price target increased by Sanford C. Bernstein from $52.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cognex from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $48.58.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $43.79 on Friday. Cognex has a 12 month low of $34.28 and a 12 month high of $59.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 75.50 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.90.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $196.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.16 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s revenue was down 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 51.72%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $274,942.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 71,112 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 92.2% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 28,993 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 13,906 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Cognex by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 22,957 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $974,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Cognex by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 252,116 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cognex by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 171,477 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,278,000 after acquiring an additional 13,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.