Clean Yield Group Increases Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Clean Yield Group grew its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 1,686.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the quarter. Clean Yield Group’s holdings in Cognex were worth $38,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cognex in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Cognex stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $36.96. 687,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 998,067. The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.08 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $38.53 and its 200 day moving average is $40.74. Cognex Co. has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

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

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.