Analysts Set Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Target Price at $44.83

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.83.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 123.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cognex during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cognex by 50.0% during 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 last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Cognex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $31.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.81 and a 200 day moving average of $38.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.74 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a 12-month low of $31.06 and a 12-month high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognex 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

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.