Ieq Capital LLC Buys 51,852 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 653.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,785 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,852 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $2,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CGNX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in Cognex by 1,686.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 50.2% during 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. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $110,758.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $32.80 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.76. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $32.35 and a one year high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.77 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. On average, research analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

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.