Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Buys 1,950 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,657 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Cognex worth $6,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 1,239.7% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Cognex by 303.1% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Cognex by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of Cognex stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.24. 80,469 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,325,848. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.96. The company has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.29 and a beta of 1.42. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $34.28 and a 1-year high of $59.51.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $210.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.14 million. Cognex had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 6.81%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Cognex from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Cognex from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.54.

Cognex Profile

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.