Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,067 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 4,555 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Cognex were worth $922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognex by 402.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Cognex by 231.9% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 82.6% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Cognex by 38.7% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,778 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of CGNX opened at $36.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 57.45 and a beta of 1.52. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $49.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.04.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. Cognex had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 11.33%.The firm had revenue of $264.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.190-0.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be given a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 13th. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s payout ratio is 53.13%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, Director Robert Willett sold 6,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total transaction of $331,915.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $90,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,190. This represents a 18.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,706 shares of company stock valued at $512,065 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.20.

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.