Cognex Corporation $CGNX Shares Sold by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC cut its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,990 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 16,174 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Cognex worth $5,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LBP AM SA lifted its holdings in Cognex by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 83,978 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,022,000 after acquiring an additional 27,353 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,564 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Finally, JB Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 70,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 9,111 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $53.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.18 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.40. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.71 and a 1-year high of $59.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $252.34 million during 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%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.75%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $850,597.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,437.92. This represents a 87.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,618.76. The trade was a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CGNX shares. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price target on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.62.

Cognex Company 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.