Raymond James Trust N.A. Boosts Position in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 95.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,918 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 15,090 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter worth $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the second quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 43.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other Cognex 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, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $40.67 on Monday. Cognex Co. has a 1-year low of $34.79 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.97 and a 200-day moving average of $42.91. The company has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

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.