Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,348,032 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,619 shares during the quarter. Novanta comprises about 2.7% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novanta were worth $205,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Novanta by 2.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,298,419 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $232,313,000 after acquiring an additional 24,929 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 780,046 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,566,000 after purchasing an additional 8,574 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Novanta by 10.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 734,728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $131,457,000 after purchasing an additional 69,858 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Novanta by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,390 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,616,000 after buying an additional 4,271 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in Novanta by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 289,473 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,792,000 after buying an additional 6,019 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novanta Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NOVT opened at $149.66 on Monday. Novanta Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.18 and a 1-year high of $187.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.62 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Novanta

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 owns 56,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,131,845.40. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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.

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.