Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given New $42.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $44.00 to $42.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CGNX. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.83.

Cognex Trading Up 0.5 %

Cognex stock opened at $37.19 on Monday. Cognex has a 1-year low of $34.79 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.52 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.46 and a 200-day moving average of $40.67.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.08 dividend. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,065,118.24. This trade represents a 49.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter worth $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in Cognex by 1,686.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.