Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given New $47.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective trimmed by Needham & Company LLC from $50.00 to $47.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on CGNX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.17.

Cognex Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $40.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.71 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.96.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Cognex by 986.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469,961 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Cognex in the first quarter valued at $58,502,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 32.8% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,098,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $237,812,000 after buying an additional 1,259,116 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 41.4% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,716,623 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $157,659,000 after buying an additional 1,088,095 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 132.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,272,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,509,000 after buying an additional 723,976 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company 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.