WCM Investment Management LLC Sells 130,031 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

WCM Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 34.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,099 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 130,031 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Cognex worth $11,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 23,326 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Cognex in the first quarter worth approximately $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 24.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 9,223 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Cognex by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CGNX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price objective on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $62.00 price target on shares of Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.31.

Cognex Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $63.08 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.73. The company has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 75.10 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.45 and a 12-month high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The firm had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.48%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total transaction of $1,343,517.68. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,714.48. The trade was a 88.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.