Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC decreased its position in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Rating) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,701 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 15,653 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $975,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Cognex by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 793 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 833 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 136.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,955 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $53.00 on Friday. Cognex Co. has a one year low of $40.21 and a one year high of $58.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.52. The stock has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.00 and a beta of 1.60.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $239.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.09 million. Cognex had a net margin of 18.79% and a return on equity of 11.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 18th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, Director Patrick Alias sold 600 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total transaction of $29,700.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CGNX. Credit Suisse Group raised Cognex from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Cognex from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Cognex in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Cognex Company Profile

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Cognex Corp. engages in the provision of machine vision products and solutions. Its products include vision sensors, vision systems, 3D vision systems, barcode readers, barcode verifiers, vision software, and vision tools. Its solutions include alignment, dimensioning, item detection, edge intelligence, logistics barcode reading systems and tunnels, water identification, and tire inspection.