AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Invests $608,000 in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,522,549 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $743,307,000 after acquiring an additional 188,485 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in Cognex by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,230,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $211,303,000 after purchasing an additional 131,560 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Cognex by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,018,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $187,907,000 after purchasing an additional 301,916 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,445,894 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $161,130,000 after buying an additional 49,026 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,154,625 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,399,000 after purchasing an additional 53,267 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $40.85 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.98. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.56 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex Co. has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 57.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.62 per share, with a total value of $77,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr bought 6,570 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CGNX. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.92.

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.