DAVENPORT & Co LLC Acquires 76,540 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 477,658 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,540 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Cognex worth $17,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cognex by 18,810.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $56,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,159 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth $38,889,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 286.5% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,337,608 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $42,429,000 after purchasing an additional 991,567 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,025,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $361,382,000 after purchasing an additional 949,599 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $137,003,000 after purchasing an additional 922,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 196,083 shares of company stock worth $11,419,321. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $51.61 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.53. The company has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 77.03 and a beta of 1.46. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $59.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. Cognex’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. 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 report on Monday, March 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cognex from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $55.00 target price on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

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.