Brown Advisory Inc. Buys New Stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,368 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 439.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 155.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 105.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $33.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 48.85 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $53.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.97.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Cowen upgraded Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen upgraded Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.62.

Cognex 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.