Mariner LLC Sells 1,275 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Mariner LLC decreased its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,818 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,275 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Cognex by 129.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group raised its position in 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Cognex by 50.2% during the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX opened at $26.92 on Tuesday. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.13 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.95 and a 200 day moving average of $35.26.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognex Co. 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CGNX. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.23.

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.