Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Acquired by Needham Investment Management LLC

Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Cognex worth $10,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Cognex by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 172,618 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,991,000 after purchasing an additional 76,738 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 1,537.0% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 181,712 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,359,000 after purchasing an additional 170,612 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in Cognex by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,055 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Cognex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,601,577 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $64,864,000 after buying an additional 4,488 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth $306,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 168,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,891. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.56 and a beta of 1.39. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $34.79 and a one year high of $53.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.61.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.91.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $1,040,780.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,608 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,118.24. This represents a 49.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognex 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.