Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.92.

CGNX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Cognex from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX opened at $37.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.12 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.71 and a 200 day moving average of $40.94.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,065,118.24. This trade represents a 49.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter worth $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Company 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.