Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

by · The Cerbat Gem

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX – Free Report) by 14.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 516,506 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 89,410 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned about 0.30% of Cognex worth $21,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Cognex by 2.4% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 42,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Cognex by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 64,855 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 17,978 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 216,166 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $9,170,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of CGNX stock traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $40.58. 188,909 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,272,144. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $34.28 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The company has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.00 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.95.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.33 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson cut their target price on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Check Out Our Latest Report on CGNX

Cognex Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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