48,413 Shares in Cognex Corporation $CGNX Bought by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 48,413 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,000. Cognex makes up about 0.3% of Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Cognex during the third quarter worth about $27,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Cognex during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX opened at $57.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.24 and a 200-day moving average of $42.37. The company has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.39 and a beta of 1.53. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $238.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. Cognex’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total transaction of $230,657.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,222 shares in the company, valued at $901,618.76. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 196,083 shares of company stock worth $11,419,321. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 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 restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.21.

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.