Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stake in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,818 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 57,075 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.44% of Novanta worth $24,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novanta in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Novanta in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Novanta by 6,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Novanta by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,500 shares of the technology company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novanta during the third quarter worth $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company's stock.

Novanta Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NOVT traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.39. 412,445 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,469. The stock's 50-day moving average is $134.67 and its 200-day moving average is $153.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.79. Novanta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.76 and a fifty-two week high of $187.12. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.30 and a beta of 1.42.

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Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The technology company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.29 million. Novanta had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Novanta from $169.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Novanta Profile

Novanta, Inc engages in the provision of core technology solutions to healthcare and advanced industrial original equipment manufacturers. It operates through the following segments: Photonics, Vision, and Precision Motion. The Photonics segment designs, manufactures, and markets photonics-based solutions, including laser scanning and laser beam delivery, CO2 laser, continuous wave and ultrafast laser, and optical light engine products.