Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.91.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Cognex Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $39.26 on Wednesday. Cognex has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.04. The company has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 75.50 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 approximately $249,922.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Cognex during the third quarter worth $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 276.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.