Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $479,000 Stock Holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 44.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,067 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 12,777 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,797,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,299,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $209,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,996 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 16,472.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 819,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $24,432,000 after purchasing an additional 814,086 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 903.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 731,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,222,000 after purchasing an additional 658,394 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $32.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 47.79 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.11. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $53.13.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CGNX. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.17.

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.