SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $29,000 in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 806 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in Cognex by 9.4% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,055 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.83.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX stock opened at $31.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 50.84 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex Co. has a 12 month low of $30.97 and a 12 month high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

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.