Northern Trust Corp Sells 20,296 Shares of Novanta Inc. $NOVT

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Novanta Inc. by 4.2%, selling 20,296 shares and retaining approximately 1.30% ownership valued at $59.77 million.
• Novanta reported earnings of $0.76 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.74, with revenues rising to $241.05 million from $237.97 million expectations.
• Research downgrades for Novanta include a price target cut from $139 to $133 by Robert W. Baird, indicating a neutral stance on the stock's outlook.

Northern Trust Corp cut its stake in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 467,392 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 20,296 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.30% of Novanta worth $59,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOVT. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Novanta by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,909 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Novanta by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 9,577 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Novanta by 816.9% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 15,335 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,343,000 after buying an additional 17,474 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novanta by 482.1% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 326 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novanta by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 457,225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $69,850,000 after buying an additional 41,024 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOVT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Novanta from $139.00 to $133.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Novanta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NOVT traded down $1.66 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $116.41. 398,925 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 470,122. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.48 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.54. Novanta Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.76 and a 52 week high of $186.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $123.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.63.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $241.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.97 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 6.41%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Novanta has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.220-3.360 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.780-0.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 EPS 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.