Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) was down 4.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $31.09 and last traded at $30.97. Approximately 998,787 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 1,182,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. HSBC cut shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.96 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.93.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Cognex by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,784,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,262,000 after acquiring an additional 87,790 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,427,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,199,000 after purchasing an additional 42,292 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the third quarter worth about $790,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its position in Cognex by 255.1% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 24,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 17,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 75.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cognex

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.