Bridgefront Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 17,360 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Cognex by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 23,326 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 9,223 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 18.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 29,067 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 4,555 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CGNX shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.77.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $10,338,066.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at $126,437.92. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $47.98 on Monday. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $59.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.33 and a 200 day moving average of $43.18. The stock has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.61 and a beta of 1.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. Cognex had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $252.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.75%.

About Cognex

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.