Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target Lowered to $29.00 at Truist Financial

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price target reduced by Truist Financial from $37.00 to $29.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC cut Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.17.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $23.27 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15 and a beta of 1.56. Cognex has a 52-week low of $22.65 and a 52-week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.46%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at $306,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter worth $342,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 23.8% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 71,002 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 13,643 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,190,365 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $210,210,000 after purchasing an additional 42,882 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter worth about $270,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.