Lmcg Investments LLC Buys 4,829 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Lmcg Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,757 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,829 shares during the quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC owned about 0.05% of Cognex worth $4,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Cognex by 986.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $68,679,000 after buying an additional 1,469,961 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $58,641,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Cognex in the 1st quarter valued at $58,502,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Cognex by 32.8% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,716,623 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $157,659,000 after buying an additional 1,088,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $38.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.71 and its 200-day moving average is $43.28. Cognex Co. has a 1 year low of $34.28 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 66.64 and a beta of 1.41.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 4.97%. The business had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Cognex’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 51.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $249,922.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.62.

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.