Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Rating Lowered to Hold at Truist Financial

Truist Financial lowered shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $43.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $46.00.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CGNX. DA Davidson reduced 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.91.

Cognex Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $43.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 82.79 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.99.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.69%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in Cognex by 303.1% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Cognex by 276.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.