Cognex Corporation $CGNX Holdings Trimmed by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 679,386 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 231,552 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $41,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the second quarter valued at $1,158,123,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the second quarter valued at $161,425,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Cognex during the second quarter valued at $129,348,000. Front Street Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cognex during the second quarter valued at $90,581,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth about $90,605,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,189,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,212. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 34.97 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.60 and a twelve month high of $72.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $58.09 and its 200-day moving average is $58.30.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Cognex had a net margin of 21.50% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $313.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0850. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 23.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CGNX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Cognex from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Cognex from $74.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Cognex Profile

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision products that help businesses automate the inspection, identification and measurement of manufactured goods and packages. Its offerings include vision systems, barcode readers, vision sensors and software that analyze images captured during production and logistics operations. The company’s technology is used in industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and logistics. Applications include checking product quality, guiding robots and reading codes on items moving through manufacturing and distribution facilities.