KBC Group NV Sells 29,933 Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 16.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,313 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 29,933 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.09% of Cognex worth $4,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,427,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,199,000 after purchasing an additional 42,292 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 337,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 7,515.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 31,679 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 31,263 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at $1,215,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Cowen raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.17.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $32.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.20. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.21 and a beta of 1.47.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

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.