Janus Henderson Group PLC Purchases 1,190,434 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 81.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,660,411 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 1,190,434 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $130,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 173,138.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $376,979,000 after acquiring an additional 10,471,400 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter worth $73,103,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Cognex in the fourth quarter worth $68,388,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cognex by 18,810.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $56,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Cognex by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $252,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,010 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Up 4.2%

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $65.24 on Friday. Cognex Corporation has a 12-month low of $34.60 and a 12-month high of $72.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.15. The stock has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.67 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at $264,696.60. This trade represents a 83.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $4,349,734.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,184.15. The trade was a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Stephens raised their price target on Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price target on Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.31.

Cognex 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.