Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 30.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,565 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 39,740 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Novanta worth $16,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Novanta by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novanta by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,350,651 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $241,658,000 after acquiring an additional 20,825 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Novanta by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Novanta by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,151 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Novanta from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Novanta Stock Performance

Novanta stock opened at $168.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.71 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $174.02 and its 200 day moving average is $170.48. Novanta Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.82 and a twelve month high of $187.12.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The company had revenue of $244.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.33 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Novanta

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $1,347,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,131,845.40. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 1,111 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 120,419 shares in the company, valued at $21,729,608.55. The trade was a 0.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,650 shares of company stock valued at $2,956,686. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.