Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Short Interest Update

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,740,000 shares, a drop of 28.6% from the October 15th total of 3,840,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Cognex Stock Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ CGNX traded down $0.92 on Friday, reaching $39.61. The company had a trading volume of 911,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,298. Cognex has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.17 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.86 and its 200-day moving average is $43.05.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CGNX. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Vertical Research began coverage on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Cognex by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,304 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,879,000 after purchasing an additional 9,748 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Cognex during the 1st quarter valued at about $259,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 13.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 209,091 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,870,000 after buying an additional 24,675 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Cognex by 45.9% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 105,768 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 33,256 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 9.7% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 188,607 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,001,000 after buying an additional 16,715 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.