Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stake Reduced by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,017,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 89,716 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.59% of Cognex worth $41,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the second quarter worth $55,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 43.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Cognex by 19.8% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $39.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.98. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.52 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CGNX. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $249,922.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.