6,517 Shares in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Bought by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,517 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,304 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,879,000 after buying an additional 9,748 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Cognex during the first quarter worth approximately $259,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in Cognex by 45.9% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 105,768 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,487,000 after buying an additional 33,256 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 188,607 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,001,000 after acquiring an additional 16,715 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 35,363 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,500,000 after acquiring an additional 3,493 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Price Performance

Cognex stock opened at $40.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 77.83 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.08. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $34.79 and a one year high of $53.13.

Cognex Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CGNX. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.91.

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.