Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,427,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 42,292 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.83% of Cognex worth $51,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cognex by 123.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group increased its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CGNX. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Hsbc Global Res cut Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $30.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.11. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.61 and a beta of 1.43.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

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.