Mairs & Power Inc. Has $27.78 Million Stake in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Mairs & Power Inc. lifted its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 372.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 613,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 483,517 shares during the period. Mairs & Power Inc. owned 0.37% of Cognex worth $27,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Cognex by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after buying an additional 23,326 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the first quarter worth $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 24.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 9,223 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognex by 402.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Cognex by 62.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,490 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $49.56 on Tuesday. Cognex Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.67 and a 52 week high of $59.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.22. The company has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.97 and a beta of 1.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. Cognex had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th were given a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.75%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,618.76. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CGNX shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

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.