Sanctuary Advisors LLC Invests $443,000 in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 23,326 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the first quarter worth $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 9,223 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Cognex by 7.5% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total transaction of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $57.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 68.83 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.45 and a 52 week high of $72.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.92.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Cognex’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 forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 40.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price objective on Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.31.

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.