Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Stock Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 210.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,932 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 39,937 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $2,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 74.8% during 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 period. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Cognex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 202.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.80. 1,693,045 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,317,232. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $32.55 and a 1 year high of $72.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.52 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $755,184.15. The trade was a 85.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,714.48. This trade represents a 88.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Cognex Company 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.