Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 30,486 Shares of Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 71.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,425 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 30,486 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cognex were worth $563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cognex during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 231.9% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 31.5% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $56.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 price objective on Cognex in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Willett sold 6,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total transaction of $331,915.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $36.55 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.11 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.57. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $49.76.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. Cognex had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 11.33%.The company had revenue of $264.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.190-0.24 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 53.13%.

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.