Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5: MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
The Company’s common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, under the symbol CGNX. As of January 26, 2025, there were approximately 600 shareholders of record of the Company’s common stock. The Company believes the number of beneficial owners of the Company’s common stock on that date was substantially greater.
In March 2020, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of $200,000,000 of the Company's common stock. Under this March 2020 program, in addition to repurchases made in prior years, the Company repurchased 1,677,000 shares at a cost of $117,000,000 in 2022, which completed purchases under the March 2020 program.
In March 2022, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $500,000,000 of the Company's common stock. Under this March 2022 program, the Company repurchased 1,682,000 shares at a cost of $87,314,000 in 2022, 1,723,000 shares at a cost of $79,794,000 in 2023, and 1,711,000 shares at a cost of $67,085,000 in 2024, leaving a remaining balance of $265,807,000 as of December 31, 2024. The 2023 repurchase included $446,000 of buyback Excise Tax in accordance with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
The Company may repurchase shares under this program in future periods depending on a variety of factors, including, among other things, the impact of dilution from employee stock awards, stock price, share availability, and cash requirements. The Company is authorized to make repurchases of its common stock through open market purchases, pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, or in privately negotiated transactions.
The following table sets forth information with respect to purchases by the Company of shares of its common stock during each fiscal month of the fourth quarter of 2024:
Total Number of
Shares Purchased Average
Price Paid
per Share Total Number of
Shares Purchased as
Part of Publicly
Announced Plans or
Programs Approximate Dollar
Value of Shares that
May Yet Be
Purchased Under the
Plans or Programs
September 30 - October 27, 2024
119,000 $ 39.45 119,000 $ 304,355,000
October 28 - November 24, 2024
109,000 39.71 109,000 300,007,000
November 25 - December 31, 2024
928,000 36.87 928,000 265,807,000
Total 1,156,000 $ 37.40 1,156,000 $ 265,807,000
The information required by Item 5 of Form 10-K regarding equity compensation plans is incorporated herein by reference to Item 12 of Part III of this Annual Report.
The Company’s Board of Directors declared and paid cash dividends of $0.065 per share in the first, second, and third quarters of 2022, $0.070 per share in the fourth quarter of 2022 and in the first, second, and third quarters of 2023, and $0.075 per share in the fourth quarter of 2023 and in the first, second, and third quarters of 2024. The dividend was increased to $0.080 per share in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Total dividends paid were $52,329,000 in 2024, $49,079,000 in 2023, and $45,921,000 in 2022. Future dividends will be declared at the discretion of the Company's Board of Directors and will depend on such factors as the Board deems relevant, including, among other things, the Company's ability to generate positive cash flow from operations.
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Set forth below is a line graph comparing the annual percentage change in the cumulative total shareholder return on the Company’s common stock, based on the market price of the Company’s common stock, with the total return on companies within the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Nasdaq Lab Apparatus & Analytical, Optical, Measuring & Controlling Instrument (SIC 3820-3829 US Companies) Index (the “Nasdaq Lab Apparatus Index”). The performance graph assumes an investment of $100 in each of the Company and the two indices, and the reinvestment of any dividends. The historical information set forth below is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Data for the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Nasdaq Lab Apparatus Index was provided to the Company by Research Data Group, Inc.
*$100 invested on 12/31/2019 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends. Fiscal year ended December 31.
12/19 12/20 12/21 12/22 12/23 12/24
Cognex Corporation 100.00 151.56 147.25 89.67 79.95 69.20
NASDAQ Composite 100.00 144.92 177.06 119.45 172.77 223.87
NASDAQ Stocks 100.00 132.07 136.90 82.82 96.36 97.07
(SIC 3820-3829 U.S. Companies) Lab Apparatus & Analyt,Opt, Measuring, and Controlling Instrument)
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ITEM 6: [RESERVED]