KBC Group NV Buys 620 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 174,632 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.10% of Cognex worth $7,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 276.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $39.61 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.17 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% 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.