Amundi Has $2.59 Million Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Amundi decreased its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,181 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 5,350 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Cognex were worth $2,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CGNX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 123.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1,686.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Cognex stock opened at $31.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 51.66 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $53.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.04.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC lowered Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

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.