Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $1.34 Million Stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,043 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,807 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Cognex by 276.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Cognex by 43.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 19.8% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 26,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,065,118.24. The trade was a 49.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CGNX. Truist Financial lowered Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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 raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Cognex Stock Down 3.1 %

CGNX stock opened at $40.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 77.38 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.03 and a 200-day moving average of $42.85. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

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.