Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Has $1.02 Million Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,506 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 5,315 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth 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 period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group raised its position in shares of Cognex by 1,686.7% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Cognex stock opened at $24.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.65 and its 200-day moving average is $37.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.90 and a beta of 1.56. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CGNX. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.83.

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.