US Bancorp DE Has $1.50 Million Holdings in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

US Bancorp DE lessened its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,774 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,477 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 50.2% in the 4th 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. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1,686.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of CGNX opened at $33.97 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.31. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.69 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex Co. has a 52 week low of $31.06 and a 52 week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 52.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Company 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.