Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 370 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Cognex by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cognex by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Cognex by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Trading Up 2.0 %

CGNX stock opened at $32.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.98. Cognex Co. has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.69 and a beta of 1.43.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CGNX. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

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.