Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 27,384 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,410,151 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 27,384 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $69,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CGNX. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 202.7% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, 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 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.

Cognex Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,693,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,317,232. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $32.55 and a 1 year high of $72.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.45. The stock has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.52 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. Analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Stephens boosted their target price on Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup reiterated 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. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price target on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

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.