Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 48,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,352,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $4,349,734.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,184.15. This represents a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $264,696.60. This trade represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX stock opened at $68.36 on Tuesday. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.42 and a 1 year high of $71.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.59 and a 200 day moving average of $51.58. The company has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.38 and a beta of 1.52.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CGNX shares. Truist Financial set a $61.00 target price on shares of Cognex and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Stephens boosted their target price on Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 target price on Cognex in a 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.43.

About Cognex

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.