Robeco Schweiz AG Reduces Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Robeco Schweiz AG reduced its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 239,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG’s holdings in Cognex were worth $8,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Clean Yield Group increased its position in shares of Cognex by 1,686.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 50.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the 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. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $33.19 on Thursday. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $32.14 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.18 and a 200 day moving average of $38.67. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.41 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share 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, equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

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.