Quantbot Technologies LP Buys 151,739 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 261.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 209,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151,739 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP owned 0.12% of Cognex worth $7,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CGNX. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Cognex by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $30.92 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.69 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.77.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

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.