Laura Ann Macdonald Sells 98,122 Shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $6,554,549.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $351,234.40. This represents a 94.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Laura Ann Macdonald also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 12th, Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of Cognex stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $2,727,296.00.
• On Thursday, February 12th, Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of Cognex stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock traded down $1.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,359,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,228,531. Cognex Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.00 and a 52-week high of $71.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.47. The stock has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.19 and a beta of 1.48.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The firm had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 40.48%.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 74.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CGNX shares. Zacks Research cut Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.86.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.