Cresset Asset Management LLC Makes New $664,000 Investment in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,171,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter worth about $320,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter worth about $895,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,047,369 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $47,446,000 after purchasing an additional 18,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 15.5% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 888,275 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,239,000 after purchasing an additional 119,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $50.99 on Thursday. Cognex Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $59.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.11 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.85 and a 200 day moving average of $43.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $252.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.92 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 11.51%.Cognex’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 50.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,618.76. This represents a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 196,083 shares of company stock worth $11,419,321 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.77.

Cognex Profile

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.