Trexquant Investment LP Increases Stock Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 204.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 434,694 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 291,916 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Cognex were worth $15,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Cognex by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 50.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 30.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Cognex by 0.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $30.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.38. Cognex Co. has a 12 month low of $29.29 and a 12 month high of $53.13.

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

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.