Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target Raised to $48.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price target hoisted by Needham & Company LLC from $46.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Cognex from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. UBS Group raised Cognex from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Cognex in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.58.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.79. 1,411,680 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 906,843. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $34.28 and a fifty-two week high of $59.51. The firm has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 75.50 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.89.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. Cognex had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The firm had revenue of $196.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $274,942.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,641,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 156.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,693 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $86,862,000 after buying an additional 1,260,282 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 17.8% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,536,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $234,962,000 after buying an additional 837,487 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Cognex by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,811,495 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $119,320,000 after buying an additional 387,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,576,558 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $66,878,000 after acquiring an additional 312,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% 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.