Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target Lowered to $38.00 at Robert W. Baird

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective trimmed by Robert W. Baird from $42.00 to $38.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

CGNX has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.42.

Cognex Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $33.40 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.77. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.75 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a 52-week low of $32.41 and a 52-week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.46%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 129.9% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.