Bridges Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 20,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $980,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Cognex by 94.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Cognex by 11.3% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 27.2% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 $249,922.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CGNX has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.62.

Cognex Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CGNX opened at $39.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.52 and a beta of 1.41. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.28 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.22.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 51.72%.

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.