Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Reduces Holdings in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,673,031 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 340,153 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 4.00% of Cognex worth $326,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Cognex by 173,138.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $376,979,000 after acquiring an additional 10,471,400 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $73,103,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $68,388,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 18,810.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $56,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,314,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $191,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,629 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $351,234.40. This trade represents a 94.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,696.60. The trade was a 83.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of CGNX opened at $66.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.24 and a beta of 1.52. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.19 and a fifty-two week high of $71.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.28.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. Cognex had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CGNX shares. DA Davidson set a $62.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.43.

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.