Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. decreased its position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,779 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Novanta were worth $1,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novanta by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,526 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Novanta by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,876 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Novanta by 38.3% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 361 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Novanta by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 44,969 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,859,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Novanta by 12.6% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Novanta from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Novanta Price Performance

NOVT opened at $171.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.66 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $174.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Novanta Inc. has a 52-week low of $111.20 and a 52-week high of $187.12.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $235.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.63 million. Novanta had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Novanta Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.09, for a total value of $294,794.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 120,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,398,296.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 1,086 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.84, for a total value of $174,672.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 23,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,777,488.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.09, for a total transaction of $294,794.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 120,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,398,296.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,063 shares of company stock valued at $2,591,881. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Novanta Profile

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.