Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives $44.83 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.83.

CGNX has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research 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.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Cognex by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% in 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 buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $30.01 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.50. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex has a 1 year low of $29.58 and a 1 year high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. On average, research analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

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.