AIA Group Ltd Buys 10,284 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 90,122 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,284 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Cognex were worth $3,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Cognex by 303.1% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 276.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Cognex by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $43.05 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 82.79 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.57 and a 200-day moving average of $42.99.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 57.69%.

Cognex Profile

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.