Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Buys 7,460 Shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,286,496 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 7,460 shares during the period. Novanta comprises about 3.3% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 3.59% of Novanta worth $216,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOVT. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novanta during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Novanta during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Novanta by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 544 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novanta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Novanta by 15.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 645 shares of the technology company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, TheStreet raised Novanta from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 28th.

Novanta Trading Down 3.9 %

NOVT stock traded down $6.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $163.87. The stock had a trading volume of 176,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,148. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Novanta Inc. has a twelve month low of $111.20 and a twelve month high of $187.60. The firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.72 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.33.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. Novanta had a return on equity of 17.15% and a net margin of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $211.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $210.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. Novanta's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Novanta Inc. will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,226,384. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Novanta news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.40, for a total value of $511,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 120,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,519,397.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,226,384. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,846,160. 1.20% of the stock is owned by 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.