Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 31,736 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,284 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 31,736 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $2,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Cognex by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in Cognex by 2.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 43.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 3.1% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CGNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lowered Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX opened at $40.67 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a PE ratio of 78.21 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.