The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 6,303 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,981 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,303 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.08% of Cognex worth $5,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,018,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $187,907,000 after purchasing an additional 301,916 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognex by 1.2% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,309,827 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,248,000 after acquiring an additional 15,871 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 33.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,621,629 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $75,828,000 after acquiring an additional 409,502 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the second quarter valued at about $980,000. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 17,625 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Down 3.0 %

Cognex stock opened at $37.62 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.35 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.49.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens upgraded Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Cognex 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.