Legato Capital Management LLC Has $932,000 Stock Holdings in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,916 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,069 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Cognex by 12.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Cognex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Cognex by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 54,349 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cognex by 74.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 23,006 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $62.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.36.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares in the company, valued at $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $6,554,549.60. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $351,234.40. This represents a 94.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 204,595 shares of company stock worth $13,631,580. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $66.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.68 and a beta of 1.48. Cognex Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.00 and a 52-week high of $71.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.58 and a 200 day moving average of $46.82.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The company had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.48%.

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.