Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given New $47.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its target price decreased by Needham & Company LLC from $50.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens raised Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.17.

Cognex Trading Up 0.4 %

CGNX traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,460,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,564. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of 77.71 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.91.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 5.34% and a net margin of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $234.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.86 million. Research analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 303.1% in 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 276.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

About Cognex

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.