Friday, July 28, 2006

Cognex calls for $100M stock buyback

Natick-based Cognex Corp. has authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of Cognex common stock in open market transactions and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.085 per share, representing a 6 percent increase in the dividend.

The new authorization follows the recently-completed $100 million stock repurchase program that was announced Dec. 12, 2000.

The dividend announced today is payable on Aug. 25, 2006, to all shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug. 11, 2006. It is Cognex's 13th consecutive quarterly cash dividend. To date, $40 million in dividends has been paid to shareholders since the first cash dividend was declared in the third quarter of 2003, and this is the second time the dividend has been increased.

The company reported close to $217 million in revenue in 2005, with a net income of $35.7 million.

Cognex, which employs 740 workers, operates regional offices throughout North America, Japan, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

The company makes machine vision sensors and systems, or devices that can "see." Cognex vision sensors are used in factories to automate the manufacture of a wide range of items and to assure their quality.