Kopion Asset Management LLC Sells 3,692 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Kopion Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,618 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,692 shares during the quarter. Cognex accounts for about 4.8% of Kopion Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Kopion Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of Cognex worth $6,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 123.1% in 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 buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.44. The company had a trading volume of 38,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,041,003. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.61. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 73.92 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CGNX. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.83.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $1,040,780.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,065,118.24. This trade represents a 49.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cognex 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.