Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Buys New Shares in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,282 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CGNX. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 653.6% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 59,785 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,144,000 after buying an additional 51,852 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 45,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Cowen raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.17.

Cognex Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $29.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.07 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.69 and a 200-day moving average of $32.62. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $53.13.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued 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 of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

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.