Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 16,581 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,703 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 16,581 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its position in Cognex by 1,686.7% during the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $31.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.75 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.50 and a 200 day moving average of $37.70. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

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

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 52.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.