WCM Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

WCM Investment Management LLC cut its position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 34.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 250,099 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 130,031 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $11,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 74.8% in 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 buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Cognex by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 202.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $2,727,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,714.48. This represents a 88.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price objective on Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cognex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.31.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $63.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.10 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.73. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.45 and a 1-year high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.48%.

Cognex Profile

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.