Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $29.87 and last traded at $29.90, with a volume of 316021 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Down 2.4 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.43.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.46%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,479,828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $662,687,000 after acquiring an additional 296,251 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $209,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,996 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Cognex by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,190,365 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $210,210,000 after purchasing an additional 42,882 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,820,394 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $136,999,000 after purchasing an additional 461,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 8.9% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 3,751,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $151,948,000 after buying an additional 305,913 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.