Cognex Corporation $CGNX Shares Purchased by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,100,446 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,452 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $49,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognex in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $40.92 on Friday. Cognex Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $49.76. The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.94 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.24.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $264.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.86 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 11.33%.Cognex’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. Cognex has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.190-0.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 price objective on Cognex in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.64.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, Director Robert Willett sold 6,704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $331,915.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.