Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 46.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 164,576 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 142,326 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Novanta worth $25,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOVT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,442,000. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,104,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Novanta by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 271,583 shares of the technology company's stock worth $41,359,000 after acquiring an additional 93,511 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novanta by 61.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 214,893 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,916,000 after acquiring an additional 81,942 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its position in Novanta by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 852,638 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $130,257,000 after purchasing an additional 72,592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NOVT traded down $11.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $104.12. 1,351,813 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,238. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Novanta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.71 and a fifty-two week high of $187.12. The business's 50 day moving average is $139.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.35 and a beta of 1.42.

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

About Novanta

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.