Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.08

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08.

Cognex has increased its dividend by an average of 8.2% annually over the last three years. Cognex has a payout ratio of 33.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Cognex to earn $0.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.5%.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $42.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.62 and a 200-day moving average of $43.06. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 82.42 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a one year low of $34.79 and a one year high of $53.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens raised Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

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.