Cognex Corporation $CGNX Stock Position Cut by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 398,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 45,746 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned about 0.24% of Cognex worth $24,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Cognex by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 32,645 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH purchased a new position in Cognex in the third quarter worth about $409,000. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 6.5% in the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 15,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 20.6% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 24,691 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,498,000 after buying an additional 4,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 18.4% in the third quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 391,428 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,740,000 after buying an additional 60,768 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $50.80 on Wednesday. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $34.60 and a one year high of $72.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.65 and a 200 day moving average of $58.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01 and a beta of 1.49.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $313.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.62 million. Cognex had a net margin of 21.50% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0850. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CGNX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Cognex from $74.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.50.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision products that help businesses automate the inspection, identification and measurement of manufactured goods and packages. Its offerings include vision systems, barcode readers, vision sensors and software that analyze images captured during production and logistics operations. The company’s technology is used in industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and logistics. Applications include checking product quality, guiding robots and reading codes on items moving through manufacturing and distribution facilities.