Teacher Retirement System of Texas Takes Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 32,151 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Cognex during the fourth quarter valued at $79,797,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 122.7% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $114,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,115 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $209,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,996 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Cognex by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,092,681 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $75,044,000 after acquiring an additional 576,788 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its holdings in Cognex by 8.9% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,751,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $151,948,000 after purchasing an additional 305,913 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $30.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $29.58 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.50.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 52.46%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

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.