Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 147,957 Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its stake in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,082,314 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 147,957 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Cognex were worth $181,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Clean Yield Group grew its position in shares of Cognex by 1,686.7% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $32.80 on Monday. Cognex Co. has a twelve month low of $32.35 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 53.77 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.35 and its 200 day moving average is $38.76.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. Equities research analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 52.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.83.

About Cognex

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.