Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 90,565 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 39,740 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Novanta worth $16,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOVT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Novanta by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,861,416 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $674,860,000 after acquiring an additional 45,937 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP increased its stake in Novanta by 71.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 11,497 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 4,778 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Novanta by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Novanta by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 50,640 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 10.1% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 448,604 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $73,172,000 after acquiring an additional 41,296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company's stock.

Novanta Price Performance

Shares of Novanta stock traded down $1.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $168.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 210,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,095. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.54. The company has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.71 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Novanta Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.82 and a 12-month high of $187.12.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Novanta had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $244.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $242.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Novanta from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of Novanta stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $1,347,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,382 shares in the company, valued at $10,131,845.40. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 1,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.45, for a total value of $200,479.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 120,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,729,608.55. This trade represents a 0.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,650 shares of company stock worth $2,956,686. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Novanta

Novanta Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides precision medicine and manufacturing, medical solutions, and robotics and automation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Precision Medicine and Manufacturing, Medical Solutions, and Robotics and Automation.