Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. decreased its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 46.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,152 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 31,669 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A.’s holdings in Cognex Corporation were worth $3,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognex Corporation by 16,264.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,656,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $558,773,000 after buying an additional 6,615,351 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognex Corporation by 5.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,861 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $551,959,000 after buying an additional 311,769 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Cognex Corporation by 3.1% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,123,233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $178,245,000 after buying an additional 63,298 shares during the last quarter. OppenheimerFunds Inc. increased its stake in Cognex Corporation by 9.0% in the first quarter. OppenheimerFunds Inc. now owns 1,801,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $151,233,000 after buying an additional 148,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Cognex Corporation by 3.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,039,767 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $87,290,000 after buying an additional 35,584 shares during the last quarter. 87.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ CGNX) opened at 102.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.99 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.08. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $47.25 and a one year high of $110.69.
Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.08. Cognex Corporation had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $172.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Cognex Corporation’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post $2.56 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Cognex Corporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.60%.
Cognex Corporation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the scientific and technical instruments company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
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CGNX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research raised Cognex Corporation from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Cowen and Company reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cognex Corporation in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. BidaskClub downgraded Cognex Corporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Cognex Corporation in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.75.
In other Cognex Corporation news, CEO Robert Willett sold 55,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.73, for a total value of $5,129,449.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,129,449.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jerry A. Schneider sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.67, for a total value of $513,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $616,020. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,419 shares of company stock valued at $6,363,475 in the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Cognex Corporation Company Profile
Cognex Corporation (Cognex) is a provider of machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information in order to automate tasks, primarily in manufacturing processes, where vision is required. The Company operates through the machine vision technology segment. The Company’s machine vision products are used to automate the manufacture and tracking of discrete items, such as mobile phones, aspirin bottles and automobile tires, by locating, identifying, inspecting and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.
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