Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares acquired by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX – Free Report) by 8.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 379,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,118 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Cognex were worth $17,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Contour Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,454,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Cognex by 38.4% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 64,855 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 17,978 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cognex by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,522,549 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $743,307,000 after buying an additional 188,485 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Cognex by 153.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 134,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,706,000 after acquiring an additional 81,467 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 30.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 870,822 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $36,940,000 after purchasing an additional 203,684 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex trading down 3.0%

CGNX opened at $38.79 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $34.28 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.88 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.06.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Your Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The company had revenue of $239.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.33 million. In the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 per share. The company’s revenue fell 1.6% year-over-year. On average, analysts estimate that Cognex Co. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.30 and a yield of 0.77%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.72%.

Insider buying and selling at Cognex

In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.62 per share, with a total value of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed via this hyperlink. 1.10% of shares are currently held by corporate insiders.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Vertical Research began coverage on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, August 5th. Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.62, based on data from MarketBeat.

See our latest analysis of Cognex

Cognex Company Profile

(Free report)

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 production 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.

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