Intech Investment Management LLC Invests $1.83 Million in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 39,079 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,827,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 19.8% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Cognex by 11.3% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Cognex by 27.2% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 4.2% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,514 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Vertical Research began coverage on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.62.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $39.41 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.24. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.28 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 67.95 and a beta of 1.41.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.33 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 51.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at $437,950.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,950.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.