Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Director Angelos Papadimitriou Sells 4,150 Shares of Stock

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,222 shares in the company, valued at $901,618.76. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $57.88 on Wednesday. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $59.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.24 and a 200 day moving average of $42.37. The company has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.39 and a beta of 1.53.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. Cognex had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price target on Cognex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,450,000 after buying an additional 37,405 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Cognex by 13.4% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,025,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $361,382,000 after acquiring an additional 949,599 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Cognex by 43.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $137,003,000 after acquiring an additional 922,149 shares in the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth $5,761,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 203.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 266,954 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,093,000 after acquiring an additional 178,911 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Company Profile

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.