Analysts Set Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Target Price at $48.58

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.15.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CGNX. Stephens lifted their price objective on Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Cognex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Cognex from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $46.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 79.86 and a beta of 1.48. Cognex has a 52-week low of $34.28 and a 52-week high of $59.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.07.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. Cognex had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The company had revenue of $196.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Cognex’s revenue was down 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 51.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $274,942.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Cognex by 94.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1,239.7% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in shares of Cognex by 303.1% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 804 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company 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.