Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.08 Per Share

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08.

Cognex has raised its dividend by an average of 8.2% per year over the last three years. Cognex has a payout ratio of 33.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Cognex to earn $0.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.5%.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $42.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.14 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.09. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company 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.